LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 


HIRAM  PAULDING 

Rear- Admiral,  U.  S.  N. 
About  18(53 

From  a  photograph  by  Gurney,  New  York 


LIFE  OF 

HIRAM   PAULDING 

REAR-ADMIRAL,  U.  S.  N. 


BY 

REBECCA  PAULDING  MEADE 


NEW  YORK 

THE  BAKER   &  TAYLOR   COMPANY 
1910 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 


Published,  November,  1910 


The  Plimpton  Press  Norwood  Mass.  U.  S.  A. 


PREFACE 

THE  United  States  of  America  with  its 
extended  coast  line  may  well  look  to  its 
Navy  as  an  important  factor  in  its  exist 
ence  and  for  its  defense;  and  we,  who  enjoy 
the  blessings  won  for  us  through  stormy 
days  of  struggle,  hold  in  appreciative  remem 
brance  the  names  of  those  who  in  the  infancy 
of  the  republic  did  good  and  valiant  service 
hi  their  country's  cause. 

Before  the  memory  of  the  old  Navy  is 
effaced  by  the  glories  of  the  new,  and  the 
old  "line-of-battle-ship"  is  forgotten  in  the 
presence  of  our  magnificent  floating  engines 
of  war,  a  sketch  of  one  of  the  officers  of  the 
older  days  may  not  be  without  interest. 

The  effect  of  the  strong  personality  of  a 
brave  and  just  man,  with  cool  head  and 
good  judgment  to  meet  the  emergencies 
arising  hi  a  public  career,  is  sometimes  as 
potent  a  factor  in  the  country's  hour  of 
need  as  a  leader  in  battle  could  be.  Hiram 
Paulding,  enrolled  on  his  country's  honor 
list  from  1811  to  1878,  was  one  whose 


vi  PREFACE 

career    and     example,    whether   afloat     or 
ashore,  are  worth  remembering. 

In  taking  up  a  work  of  biography  one 
asks,  "Who  was  he?"  "What  was  he?" 
"What  did  he  do  ? "  "  Why  is  his  past  worth 
recalling?" 

This  book,  which  lays  no  claim  to  literary 
merit,  is  an  attempt,  on  the  part  of  his  chil 
dren,  to  tell  to  those  who  care  to  hear  it  the 
story  of  one  of  our  public  men,  a  chivalrous 
hero  of  the  old  days,  "sans  peur  et  sans 
reproche,"  whose  official  life  is  interwoven 
with  his  country's  history,  whose  home  life 
was  a  rarely  beautiful  one,  and  whose  ex 
ample  is  worthy  of  imitation. 

Even  in  these  days  bristling  with  stories 
of  heroes  of  fact  and  fiction,  of  the  field  and 
of  the  sea,  this  may  have  interest  for  some 
who  esteem  faithfulness  to  duty  a  cardinal 
virtue. 

R.  P.  M. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTEB  PAOB 

I    HIRAM  PAULDING'S  ANCESTORS  ....         1 

II    HIRAM  PAULDING,  THE  BOY        ....         5 

Midshipman;  Early  service  on  the  Lakes. 

III  MATURITY 14 

Norwich  Academy;  The  Rigging  Loft. 
Lieutenant;  Service  under  Decatur;  Under 
Hull  in  the  Pacific;  Volunteer  cruise  in  the 
schooner  Dolphin  in  search  of  the  mutineers 
of  the  whale-ship  Globe. 

IV  PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  IN  HIS  CAMP  .       19 

Return  to  Lima  after  some  years'  absence, 
condition  of  the  people  socially  and  politic 
ally;  Danger  to  our  commerce  makes  it 
necessary  to  communicate  with  General 
Simon  Bolivar  whose  location  was  not  known 
save  that  it  was  across  the  Andes;  Orders 
from  Commodore  Hull  to  proceed  on  horse 
back  with  despatches  to  the  General.  Hua- 
cho;  Difficulties  in  setting  out  —  equipment, 
passport.  Huava;  Barranca  River;  Huaura; 
Indian  mounds;  Supe,  entertainment  there; 
Patavilca;  Huaracanga;  Desolate  road  ap 
proaching  the  apparently  impassable  moun 
tain  range  of  rocks;  Chancallain. 

V    IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES    ....       52 

Precipitous  road  along  the  ravine,  fall  of 

the  mule;  Marca,  the  last  habitable  place  this 

side  the  Andes;  Glimpses  of  the  "vecuna" 

and  the  condor,  flowers  and  grass  soon  ex- 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

change  for  snow  and  ice,  and  the  glorious 
view  from  "  La  Punta  ";  Difficulty  of  breath 
ing  at  this  great  altitude.  Arrival  at  Arra- 
quai  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera;  At  Huaraz, 
headquarters  of  General  Bolivar;  Interview, 
four  days  spent  with  him;  Return  to  the  sea- 
coast;  Guide  lost  his  way,  danger  of  starva 
tion,  relief  at  last;  Safely  at  the  ship. 

VI    VARIOUS  SERVICES 85 

Lieutenant  in  the  Mediterranean  on  the 
Constellation  and  in  command  of  the  Shark; 
1837;  promoted  commander,  service  on  the 
Levant  and  at  the  U.  S.  Navy  Yard,  New 
York.  1844,  captain  of  the  sloop  of  war 
Vincennes;  China.  In  command  of  the 
frigate  St.  Lawrence,  North  Sea  cruise.  Ex 
tracts  from  the  Journal;  Letter  from  Count 
Platen  of  Sweden. 

VII    COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD,  WASHINGTON, 

D.C 134 

Promoted  commodore;  In  command  of  the 
North  Atlantic  or  Home  Squadron,  sailing 
frigate  Potomac. 

VIII    TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH  ....     156 

Transferred  to  steam  frigate  Wabash,  long 
cruise;  Visit  of  President  Pierce. 

IX    THE  CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM  WALKER     .      .     180 

Orders  from  Navy  Department,  capture 
of  the  filibuster  William  Walker;  Couplet  at 
the  theater — "As  the  burnt  child  dreads 
scalding,  let  '  filibusteros '  beware  of  Com 
modore  Paulding."  Relieved  of  his  com 
mand;  Nicaragua  in  gratitude  presents  him 
with  a  sword  and  an  estate  in  her  country; 
In  retirement  at  his  home  during  the  remain 
der  of  President  Buchanan's  administration. 


CONTENTS  ix 

CHAPTEB  PAQE 

X    FRIENDSHIPS 201 

Josiah  Tattnall,  Siday  Hawes,  Churchill 
C.  Cambreleng,  Joseph  Smith,  U.  S.  N. 

XI    THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME 219 

XII    EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR      .      .      .     232 

Service  in  Washington;  Letters.  De 
struction  of  the  Navy  Yard  at  Norfolk. 

XIII    SERVICE  AT  THE  NAVY  YARD,  NEW  YORK, 

1861-63 255 

In  command  of  Navy  Yard,  New  York. 
The  Monitor  or  Ericsson,  as  she  was  first 
called;  Riot  in  New  York;  Building  of  the 
"Cob  Dock";  "Peach  Blossom,"  the  home, 
destroyed  by  fire. 

APPENDIX 272 

No.  1  Letter  from  H.  Paulding  to  Boyce. 

No.  2  Letter  from  Boyce  to  Paulding. 

No.  3  Letter  from  J.  K.  Paulding  to  Hiram 
Paulding. 

No.  4  Sword  presentation,  Letter  from 
Molina  to  Admiral  Paulding  and  speech  and 
letter  of  Admiral  Paulding. 

No.  5  Letter  regarding  the  burning  of  the 
old  home. 

No.  6  Letter  regarding  the  presentation 
of  the  Italian  order  of  Sts.  Mauritius  and 
Lazarus. 

No.  7  Paulding's  letter  of  acceptance  of 
the  order  to  Cantagalli,  Charge  d'affaires 
of  Italy. 

No.  8  Letter  written  in  dark  days  of  the 
republic,  and  letters  concerning  the  Monitor. 

No.  9  Letter  from  Hiram  Barney. 

No.  10  Letter  to  a  friend. 

No.  11  Address  to  the  returned  veterans 
at  Huntington. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Hiram  Paulding,  Rear- Admiral,  U.S.N.,  about 
1863 Frontispiece 

From  a  photograph  by  Gurney,  New  York.  OPPOSITE 

PAGE 

John  Paulding,  born  1758,  died  1818   .      .     .     .        3 

From  a  miniature. 

Hiram  Paulding,  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  N.,  about  1828      17 

From  a  miniature  (artist  unknown). 

Simon  Bolivar,  The  Liberator 69 

From   an  engraving  by  W.  Holl   after  M.  N.  Bate,   Lenox 
Library,  New  York. 

U.  S.  Frigate  Columbus  and  U.  S.  Sloop  of  War 
Vincennes,  being  towed  out  of  port  by  Jap 
anese  row-boats,  1844 86 

From  an  old  print. 

Siday  Hawes,  Coltishall,  England,  died  1863      .     126 

Hiram  Paulding,  Commodore,  U.  S.  N.,  about 
1857 194 

Hiram  Paulding,  Rear-Admiral,  U.S.N.,  1862    .     208 

From  a  photograph  by  Brady.    Enlarged  and  painted  in  oils 
by  Charles  Morse. 


LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

CHAPTER  I 
HIRAM  PAULDING'S  ANCESTORS 

THE  life  of  Hiram  Paulding  would  be 
incomplete  without  a  few  words  concerning 
his  antecedents.  The  earliest  record  we 
have  is  that  during  the  days  when  New 
York  was  still  "Nieu  Amsterdam"  and 
when  the  dwellings  in  the  town  were  so 
sparsely  distributed  that  on  Broadway  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  Bowling  Green  one 
passed  orchards  and  gardens,  one  Joost 
Pauldinck,  a  cord  wain  er  and  bolter,1  came 
here  from  Holland  bringing  his  wife  Cater jna, 
and  established  himself  in  the  city,  where 
he  remained  for  many  years,  being  made 
a  " freeman  of  the  city"  in  1683.  He  ob 
tained  with  Colonel  Heathcote  and  others  a 

1  As  nearly  as  we  can  learn,  the  work  of  a  cordwainer  was 
that  of  adapting  French  and  Spanish  leather  to  the  em 
bellishment  of  walls  and  the  covering  of  furniture.  Bolting 
had  to  do  with  the  sifting  of  flour  —  as  we  find  from  the 
"Bolter's  act"  which  affected  the  flour  merchants. 
1 


2  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

large  grant  of  land  near  White  Plains,  and 
there  is  a  record  that  for  a  time  he  lived 
near  Tarrytown  and  was  deacon  in  the  old 
church  at  Sleepy  Hollow  for  a  year.  He 
was  part  owner  in  the  privateer  Wheel  of 
Fortune,  commanded  by  Abraham  Van 
Lare.  Business  took  him  again  to  New 
York,  but  in  1703  and  1706  he  sold  out  his 
interest  there. 

His  sons  were  Abraham  and  Joseph  and 
two  others,  names  unknown.  Joseph,  who 
was  admitted  freeman  in  1735,  married 
Susannah  White,  and  in  1753  removed  to 
Tarrytown. 

Previous  to  this  he  had  leased  a  part  of 
what  was  then  known  as  the  "  Commons/ ; 
now  City  Hall  Park,  New  York,  and  in  1741 
established  a  brick-yard  not  far  from  the 
poor  house  erected  there  in  1736.  Only 
two  of  his  children  grew  to  manhood,  Pekt, 
or  Peter,  and  John,  born  in  1758,  who  in 
1775  was  a  private  in  a  militia  regiment. 
Peter  was  an  ensign  in  the  first  militia 
regiment  of  this  country.  At  the  close  of 
the  war  John  was  made  major  in  Colonel 
Van  Cortlandt's  regiment  of  militia.  This 
branch  of  the  family  are  all  buried  at  Sleepy 
Hollow  and  have  tombstones  in  the  church 
yard  there. 


JOHN  PAULDING 
Born  1758  — Died  1818 

From  a  miniature 


HIRAM   PAULDING'S  ANCESTORS  3 

As  John  was  the  father  of  the  naval  officer, 
we  follow  him  to  his  farm  in  Westchester 
County,  where  most  of  his  life  was  spent. 
Militia  duty  in  that  locality  was  no  sinecure 
during  the  Revolution,  and  John  Paulding 
made  his  presence  felt  wherever  active 
vigilance  was  needed,  and  his  readiness  and 
alertness  in  the  capture  of  Major  Andre 
showed  him  a  man  not  easily  deceived  or 
lightly  to  be  regarded.  The  story  of  the 
capture  of  Andre  by  John  Paulding,  Williams, 
and  Van  Wart  is  well  known  in  the  annals 
of  the  country.  John  Paulding  was  made 
prisoner  several  times,  and  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life,  as  his  exploits  had  roused  great 
hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Tories.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  Congress  presented  to  each 
of  the  captors  a  medal  with  the  word 
"Fidelity"  inscribed  on  one  side.  The 
Paulding  medal  is  hi  the  possession  of  the 
descendants  of  the  eldest  son,  George. 
Copies  of  the  original  were  made  for  two 
other  members  of  the  family. 

John  was  married  three  times  and  left 
a  large  family  of  children.  His  first  wife, 
Sarah  Teed,  was  the  daughter  of  a  Tory 
neighbor.  One  only  of  her  children,  Nancy, 
lived  to  mature  years.  The  next  wife, 
mother  of  Hiram,  was  Esther  Ward,  who 


4  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

died  in  1804,  leaving  eight  children,  Hiram, 
the  fifth  child,  being  only  seven  years  of  age 
and  his  sister  Susan  an  infant.  Little  is 
known  of  the  boy's  life  on  the  farm.  He 
often  spoke  of  the  faithful  care  of  the  old 
colored  servant  who  filled  as  well  as  she 
could  the  place  of  mother  to  the  mother 
less  children  till  the  father  married  again. 
George,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  a 
resident  of  New  York.  His  son  Leonard, 
a  naval  officer  of  merit  and  distinction,  is 
well  known  in  history  as  one  of  the  heroes 
of  our  victories  at  Forts  Donelson  and 
Fisher.  He  was  a  man  of  charming  char 
acter,  brave  and  true,  and  beloved  by  all 
who  knew  him.  He  died  while  on  service 
in  the  Pacific,  at  the  end  of  a  long  cruise, 
and  on  the  eve  of  promotion. 


CHAPTER  II 

HIRAM   PAULDING,   THE   BOY 

IN  an  atmosphere  charged  with  romance 
and  patriotic  aspirations,  where  every  hill 
and  valley  has  its  story  of  love  and  war,  at 
Cortlandt,  Westchester  County,  New  York, 
December  11,  1797,  Hiram  Paulding  was 
born.  Doubtless  his  young  mind  was  filled 
with  stories  of  the  achievements  of  his 
neighbors,  the  militiamen,  for  it  was  his 
father  whose  good  fortune  it  had  been  to  be 
instrumental  in  foiling  the  traitor's  plans;  to 
save  to  us  for  all  time  the  beautiful  fortress 
of  West  Point;  failing  which  a  death-blow 
might  have  been  given  to  the  independence 
of  America,  and  the  chance  of  this  refuge  for 
the  oppressed  forever  lost  to  the  world. 

At  a  very  early  age  Hiram  met  with  that 
greatest  possible  loss,  the  death  of  a  good 
mother.  His  boyhood  was  passed  upon  his 
father's  farm,  and  his  educational  advan 
tages  were  limited  to  the  primitive  coun 
try  schools  of  those  days,  but  he  eagerly 
5 


6  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  these 
afforded. 

Animated  with  a  desire  to  emulate  the 
brave  deeds  of  his  father  and  his  father's 
friends,  he  early  determined  to  be  a  sol 
dier,  and  application  was  made  for  admis 
sion  to  the  Army.  For  some  reason  his 
application  for  the  Army  was  unsuccessful, 
but  through  the  kindness  and  influence  of 
his  friends,  on  the  1st  of  September,  1811, 
he  received  from  President  Madison  an 
appointment  as  midshipman  hi  the  Navy, 
and  at  once  began  the  study  of  mathematics 
and  navigation  under  Master  Gibbons,  an 
Irish  exile  skilled  in  those  sciences.  He 
was  then  less  than  fourteen  years  of  age. 
When  war  with  England  was  declared,  he 
was  ordered  to  report  for  duty  on  the  North 
ern  Lakes,  and  in  1813  his  official  life  began. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  parting  from  his 
home  was  a  sad  one,  for  the  mother  of  the 
little  children  there  was  not  his  own  mother, 
but  there  was  one  to  whom  his  boy  heart 
went  out  with  all  its  fulness,  for  his  own 
sister  was  doubtless  heart-broken  to  have 
her  brother  exposed  to  the  hardships  inci 
dent  to  a  sailor's  life  in  time  of  war.  In  a 
package  brown  with  age,  long  after,  when 
in  the  fulness  of  years  Hiram  Paulding  had 


HIRAM   PAULDING,   THE   BOY  7 

been  called  to  his  reward,  the  writer  found 
the  endorsement,  in  a  youthful  hand, 
"Letters  from  Sue,"  and  these  letters  tell 
not  only  of  the  deep  sisterly  affection,  but 
of  loving  appreciation  of  all  the  kindnesses 
he  had  shown  her. 

The  young  midshipman,  with  orders  to 
report  to  the  schooner  Thompkins  at  the 
scene  of  the  war,  stood  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  with  a  small  trunk  containing 
his  meager  outfit.  The  steamer  Fulton, 
which  hi  those  days  made  her  passage  to 
Albany  in  forty-eight  hours,  had  passed  up 
the  river  during  the  night,  but  the  watchman 
who  had  promised  to  call  him  had  failed  to, 
and,  as  a  week  would  elapse  before  the 
return  trip  of  the  Fulton,  he  availed  himself 
of  an  oyster-boat  which  was  passing  up  the 
river  and  was  landed  at  Albany.  Thence 
he  took  stage  to  Utica,  where  he  found  a 
friend  hi  the  Drum  Major  of  a  marching 
regiment  who  was  endeavoring  to  reach  his 
command,  and  together  they  secured  places 
in  a  country  wagon  which  was  conveying 
the  mail  to  the  Army.  This  ride  over  cordu 
roy  roads  was  always  vivid  in  Hiram  Paul- 
ding's  recollection.  When  within  about  forty 
miles  of  Sackett's  Harbor,  where  he  was  to 
join  Commodore  Chauncey's  squadron,  the 


8  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

roads  became  obstructed  by  supply  wagons 
and  other  materiel  for  the  Army.  So  the 
mail  bags  were  thrown  across  the  back  of 
the  horse  and  the  wagon  was  abandoned. 
Fortunately,  about  this  time  Colonel  Tuttle 
with  his  marching  regiment  was  overtaken 
and  the  midshipman's  trunk  was  placed  in 
the  Colonel's  baggage  wagon.  Noticing 
his  extreme  youth  and  delicate  appearance, 
the  officers  of  the  command  urged  him  to 
take  place  beside  it,  but  with  boyish  vanity 
he  deemed  it  beneath  his  dignity  as  an 
"  officer, "  and  insisted  on  marching  with 
the  regiment. 

The  enemy  were  expected  to  land  at  any 
moment  at  Sackett's  Harbor  and  Colonel 
Tuttle' s  regiment  was  moving  to  the  front 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  At  the  end  of  the 
day  thirty  miles  had  been  covered,  and 
when,  late  at  night,  they  went  into  camp, 
the  young  midshipman  was  invited  by  the 
officers  to  join  them  in  a  meal  which  was 
secured  for  them  in  a  public  house  near  by. 
Young  Hiram  seated  himself  at  table,  but 
from  that  moment  until  the  sun  was  high 
the  next  day  he  was  unconscious  of  all  that 
happened,  for  when  the  tired  boy  fell  asleep 
at  table,  his  friends  had  placed  him  com 
fortably  in  bed.  He  arose  hurriedly,  and 


HIRAM   PAULDING,   THE   BOY  9 

having  partaken  of  some  refreshment  pro 
vided  for  him,  he  resumed  the  march  alone. 
He  found  that  the  enemy  had  landed  and 
had  been  repulsed  —  and  as  he  hurried 
along  the  road  he  met  wounded  men  march 
ing  and  being  carried  away.  This  was  his 
first  glimpse  of  the  horrors  of  war.1 

Commodore  McDonough  being  in  need 
of  officers,  service  on  Lake  Ontario  was  of 
short  duration  and  uneventful,  and  Paul- 
ding  soon  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  that 
wonderful  work  being  done  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  where  within  six  months  a  fleet  was 
built  and  fitted  out  which  was  to  achieve 
one  of  the  greatest  naval  victories  of  the  war. 
He  was  first  transferred  to  the  President 
on  Lake  Champlain,  flag-ship  of  Master 
Commandant  McDonough,  an  officer  of 
great  spirit  and  experience;  and  it  was  a 
fortunate  thing  for  the  young  midshipman 
to  have  such  a  leader  so  early  hi  his  naval 
career.  His  service  there  was  short  and 
we  next  find  him  in  1814  on  board  the 
Ticonderoga,  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Cassin. 

During  the  winter  of  1813-14  Mc 
Donough  had  superintended  the  building 

JThe  above  account  of  his  first  appearance  is  from  a 
more  detailed  description  written  by  him  for  his  children. 


10  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

of  a  squadron  that  should  control  Lake 
Champlain,  as  it  became  necessary  now  to 
oppose  the  British  force,  which  evidently 
hoped  to  make  this  a  base  of  supplies  for 
its  armies  en  route  to  Albany.  There  were 
many  sharp  skirmishes  on  the  lake  and  at 
one  time,  when  the  British  Army  —  nearly 
12,000  strong  —  appeared  before  Plattsburg, 
one  of  our  gunboats  in  opposing  their 
march  along  the  shore  became  disabled,  and 
with  some  of  the  cutters  of  the  squadron, 
Midshipman  Paulding  was  sent  to  tow  the 
gunboat  to  a  place  of  safety.  In  the  teeth 
of  a  gale  and  under  heavy  fire,  with  great 
difficulty  and  some  loss  of  life,  he  accom 
plished  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  superiors 
this  his  first  responsible  service. 

At  last,  on  the  llth  of  September,  1814,  a 
calm  and  beautiful  Sunday  morning,  the 
final  decisive  battle  on  the  lake  was  fought, 
after  which,  until  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
frontier  was  clear  of  the  enemy.  Cooper's 
"Naval  History,"  chapter  XXIII,  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  the  fight,  and  of  the 
American  victory  with  its  far-reaching  re 
sults.  The  American  squadron  being  short 
of  officers,  Paulding,  under  seventeen  years 
of  age,  was  entrusted  with  a  lieutenant's 
duties  and  had  charge  of  the  second  divi- 


HIRAM   PAULDING,  THE  BOY  11 

sion  of  great  guns  on  board  the  Ticon- 
deroga,  which  vessel  bore  the  whole  brunt 
of  the  attack  of  the  British  row-galleys  and 
was  magnificently  fought.  Says  Cooper  in 
his  "Naval  History":  " There  was  a  common 
feeling  of  admiration  at  the  manner  hi  which 
the  Ticonderoga  defended  the  rear  of  the 
line  and  of  the  noble  conduct  of  all  on  board 
of  her.  Once  or  twice  the  nearest  vessels 
thought  her  to  be  in  flames  in  consequence 
of  the  awful  rapidity  of  her  fire."  Cassin, 
meanwhile,  walked  his  taffrail  amid  a 
shower  of  murderous  missiles,  perfectly  cool, 
seeming  to  bear  a  charmed  life  while  he 
directed  the  firing. 

Paulding  had  charge  of  the  quarter-deck 
guns,  under  his  eye,  to  train  the  cannon  upon 
the  advancing  foe,  and  his  ready  resource 
was  shown  when,  the  " matches"  having 
given  out,  he  substituted  the  flash  of  his 
loaded  pistol  and  there  was  no  cessation  of 
the  firing.  The  boy  was  not  conscious  that 
he  had  performed  any  very  special  service; 
his  pride  and  gratification  then  may  be 
conceived  when  in  the  darkness  of  the 
ensuing  night  he  overheard  his  commander, 
Cassin,  say  to  one  of  the  lieutenants, 
"That  youngster  Paulding  is  a  brave  little 
fellow."  These  few  words  of  commendation 


12  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

gave  him  heart  and  courage  for  any  duty 
that  might  come,  and  when,  later,  he  received 
a  sword  and  $1500  prize-money  from  Con 
gress  for  his  " gallant  service"  he  was 
encouraged  to  feel  that  he  had  proved 
ability  in  his  profession.  The  sword  and 
letter  accompanying  it  are  in  the  possession 
of  a  member  of  the  family,  Hiram  Paulding, 
2d,  his  son. 

"In  this  memorable  battle,  which  broke 
the  power  of  great  Britain  on  the  Lakes  and 
freed  the  State  of  New  York  from  all  fear 
of  further  British  incursion,  the  American 
squadron  consisted  of  fourteen  vessels 
mounting  eighty-six  cannon  and  carrying 
eight  hundred  and  fifty  men.  The  British 
squadron,  as  is  well  known,  was  virtually 
annihilated,  its  commodore  killed,  and  all 
its  vessels  captured  save  a  few  row-galleys 
which  had  previously  struck  their  colors 
and  then  dishonorably  escaped  because  the 
Americans  really  had  too  few  men  and  were 
in  too  battered  a  condition  themselves  to 
pursue  and  recapture  them." 

Many  years  later  the  following  letter  was 
received  by  Paulding: 

COMMODORE  HIRAM  PAULDING,  U.  S.  N. 

Dear  Sir:  The  citizens  of  Plattsburg  and  Clinton 
County,  remembering  your  gallantry  and  active  par- 


HIRAM   PAULDING,   THE  BOY 


13 


ticipation  in  the  naval  battle  fought  off  this  village,  on 
the  llth.  of  September  1814,  request  the  pleasure  of 
your  company  to  unite  with  them  in  celebrating  the 
coming  anniversary  of  that  event. 

We  are,  with  very  distinguished  considerations, 
Your  Obedient  Servants 


THEODORUS  BAILEY 
L.  STETSON 
G.  M.  PALMER 
P.  G.  ELLSWORTH 
SMITH  M.  WEED 


Committee  of 
Invitation 


PLATTSBURG, 

August  26th,  1858. 


CHAPTER  III 

MATUKITY 

WHEN  peace  was  declared,  Paulding  joined 
the  frigate  Constellation  in  the  squadron 
of  Commodore  Decatur,  fitting  out  to  de 
mand  redress  of  the  Barbary  powers,  and 
in  June,  1815,  participated  in  the  capture  of 
the  Algerine  vessels  Mashoudah  and  Estidio. 
So  great  was  the  terror  of  Decatur 's  name 
and  the  prestige  won  by  our  Navy  in  the  war 
with  Great  Britain  that  all  grievances  were 
promptly  redressed. 

In  1816  Paulding  was  made  lieutenant 
and  served  on  the  Independence  for  a  time, 
then  made  a  cruise  on  our  coast  in  the  brig 
Prometheus.  In  the  summer  of  1818  he 
joined  the  frigate  Macedonian  and  made  a 
three  years'  cruise  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  1821,  the  cruise  being  over,  he  took  a 
leave  of  absence  and,  realizing  his  deficiency 
in  certain  branches  of  education,  spent 
eighteen  months  in  hard  study  at  Norwich 
in  the  military  academy  of  Captain  Par- 

14 


MATURITY  15 

tridge,  which  has  since  helped  to  equip  many 
of  our  naval  officers.1  Finding  after  a  time 
that  his  health  suffered  from  too  close  appli 
cation  to  study,  he  spent  some  months  in 
the  disguise  of  a  sailor  in  a  rigging  loft  in 
Boston  where  Mr.  McClellan  superintended 
the  rigging  of  ships.  This  work  and  some 
surveying  of  the  Navy  Yard  of  Boston  and 
vicinity,  although  it  could  hardly  be  called 
rest,  enabled  him  to  return  to  his  duties 
invigorated.  Long  years  after,  a  gray- 
haired,  vigorous  man  came  to  see  him  at 
his  home.  He  said  that  when  a  young 
fellow  he  had  been  carpenter  on  the  Mace 
donian,  where  Mr.  Paulding  was  lieutenant. 
Three  or  four  years  later,  being  in  Boston 
and  going  to  McClellan' s  rigging  loft  on  busi 
ness,  he  was  astounded  to  see  the  Lieuten 
ant  in  sailor  dress  working  with  the  others. 
"  Mr.  Paulding ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  beg  your 
pardon/7  rejoined  his  former  shipmate,  "Mr. 
Brown,  if  you  please/'  But  the  disguise 
was  no  longer  possible,  and,  having  mastered 
the  details  of  this  branch  of  equipment,  he 
returned  to  his  studies  with  new  zest.  It 

1  Many  of  the  distinguished  officers  of  the  Army  and 
Navy  are  graduates  of  this  Academy  —  now  the  University 
of  Norwich  —  among  them  Admiral  George  Dewey.  See 
"History  of  Norwich  Academy,"  by  Wm.  A.  Ellis,  B.S. 


16  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  was  no 
Naval  Academy  in  those  days,  and  the  oppor 
tunities  afforded  by  the  Government  to  its 
naval  officers  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
the  scientific  branches  bearing  on  the  pro 
fession  were  of  the  most  meager  description. 
Paulding's  wise  foresight,  characteristic  of 
the  man,  enabled  him  to  take  rank  with  the 
best  informed  men  in  the  Navy. 

His  next  cruise  was  as  first  lieutenant  of 
the  Sea  Gull,  the  first  steamer  employed 
by  the  Government  as  a  man-of-war  in  a 
squadron  commanded  by  Commodore  Por 
ter,  for  the  suppression  of  piracy  in  the 
West  Indies.  After  a  few  months'  service 
in  her  he  returned,  under  orders  from  the 
Department,  in  the  Peacock,  and  joined 
the  frigate  United  States  fitting  out  for 
the  Pacific  Ocean. 

He  was  absent  nearly  four  years,  during 
which  time  he  performed  special  service  in 
conveying  through  the  deserts  of  Peru  and 
over  the  Andes  secret  despatches  from 
Commodore  Hull  to  General  Bolivar,  trav 
ersing  on  horseback  about  fifteen  hundred 
miles.  His  account  of  this  journey,  which 
he  published  after  his  return  under  the  title 
of  " Bolivar  in  his  Camp,"  was  most  interest 
ing.  In  this  trip  to  the  camp  of  the  "Lib- 


HIRAM  PAULDING 

Lieutenant,  U.S.N. 
About  1828 

From  a  miniature  (artist  unknown) 


MATURITY  17 

erator"  he  had  an  arduous  and  dangerous 
journey,  traversing  a  belt  of  wild,  arid,  and 
mountainous  country;  after  many  days, 
having  overcome  almost  insuperable  diffi 
culties,  reaching  the  General  and  accom 
plishing  the  errand. 

While  attached  to  the  United  States  in 
1826  he  volunteered  for  duty  on  the 
schooner  Dolphin,  and,  as  her  first  lieuten 
ant,  went  to  the  then  savage  Mulgrave 
Islands  in  search  of  the  mutineers  of  the 
American  whale-ship  Globe.  The  Dolphin 
on  this  occasion  was  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  John  Percival,  better  known  in 
the  service  as  "Mad  Jack,"  a  seaman  of 
uncommon  ability  and  fearlessness,  but 
extremely  eccentric.  Among  the  midship 
men  was  the  late  Rear-Admiral  Charles 
Henry  Davis,  who  said  that  the  boldest 
act  he  ever  witnessed  was  performed  by 
Lieutenant  Paulding  in  the  seizure  of  one 
of  the  mutineers  in  face  of  a  mob  of  infuri 
ated  savages,  several  hundred  in  number, 
armed  with  clubs  and  spears.  With  only 
a  cutter's  crew,  Paulding  landed,  and  while 
holding  a  parley  suddenly  seized  his  man 
and,  covering  his  own  body  with  his  human 
prize,  marched  him  rapidly  to  the  boat, 
holding  a  cocked  pistol  to  his  ear.  The 


18  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

natives,  who  were  friendly  to  the  mutineers, 
were  so  much  surprised  by  the  audacity  of 
the  proceeding  that  they  made  no  attempt 
at  recapture  until  too  late  to  do  so.1 

A  very  interesting  account  of  this  cruise 
was  written  by  Paulding  and  published  in 
New  York  in  1831,  the  preface  being  so 
quaint  and  humorous  as  to  show  beyond 
dispute  that  all  the  wit  of  the  family  had 
not  been  confined  to  the  author  of  the 
"  Dutchman's  Fireside. " 2 

1  From  Life  of  Admiral  C.  H.  Davis,  by  his  son. 

2  James  K,  Paulding. 


CHAPTER  IV 
PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  IN  HIS  CAMP1 

"IN  the  month  of  May,  1824,  our  frigate 
anchored  in  the  bay  of  Callao.  An  interval 
of  four  years  had  elapsed  since  my  first  visit 
here,  and,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  discover 
from  our  deck,  no  material  change  had  taken 
place.  From  the  bay  everything  bore  the 
same  gloomy  and  forbidding  aspect.  There 
was  the  sandy  waste,  the  mud  walls,  and 
gray  thatch  of  the  wretched  town.  The  red 
and  yellow  stripes  of  Spain  floated  from  the 
ramparts  of  the  castle,  and  the  island  of  San 
Lorenzo  was  there  with  its  frowning  cliffs 
warring  with  the  ocean  swell  and  rearing 
aloft  its  peaks  enveloped  in  fantastic  clouds 
and  ever-changing  mist. 

Over  the  Valley  Rimac  the  once  gorgeous 
city  of  Lima  was  indicated  by  its  numerous 
spires  elevated  above  all  intervening  objects, 
and  skirted  in  amphitheatre  by  the  first 

1  Reprinted  from  "Bolivar  in  his  Camp,"  by  Hiram 
Paulding.     New  York,  1834.    Out  of  print. 
19 


20  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

range  of  mountains  that,  rising  one  above 
the  other,  terminated  in  the  Andes. 

I  dwelt  with  pleasure  on  the  scenes  I  had 
witnessed  in  that  beautiful  city  in  bygone 
years.  Ere  the  commotions  of  civil  war  had 
broken  the  ties  of  law  and  of  nature,  chang 
ing  the  face  of  everything  in  its  irresistible 
course,  Lima  was  perhaps  unequalled  in  all 
the  western  world  in  its  splendour  and  its 
luxury,  as  well  as  the  more  homely  comforts 
of  life,  united  with  every  facility  for  their 
acquisition.  Well  might  it  be  called  la 
ciudad  dorado. 

A  cloudless  sky,  the  delicious  perfume  of 
orange  groves,  and  the  shady  "almada," 
united  in  effect  to  charm  the  senses  of  the 
stranger  as  he  approached  the  entrance  of 
the  city.  The  wide  and  well  paved  streets 
received  an  air  of  cheerfulness  from  the 
fresco-painted  walls,  and  babbling  rivulets 
that  lined  the  sidewalks  or  were  sent  mean 
dering  through  the  middle  of  the  principal 
avenues  of  the  city. 

The  dwellings  of  the  gentry  were  accom 
modated  with  large  courts  in  front,  excluded 
from  the  streets  by  gateways,  and  the  inte 
rior  and  exterior  of  the  houses  were  brilliant 
in  the  highest  degree  with  mirrors  and 
gilded  ornaments,  as  well  as  the  most  costly 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  21 

furniture.  The  churches,  rich  with  the 
spoil  of  two  centuries,  proclaimed  the  wealth 
of  the  city  and  power  of  the  priests.  I  still 
remember  with  pleasure  the  formal  courtesy 
and  dignified  bearing  of  the  Spanish  gentry 
of  lima,  who  never  passed  us  in  the  street 
without  a  salutation,  and  even  the  priests, 
who,  from  policy  as  well  as  religious  prepos 
session,  could  ill  conceal  their  aversion  to 
our  presence,  scarcely  ever  failed  in  the 
observance  of  the  same  polite  attention. 
The  Plaza  was  enlivened  with  the  gay 
merchandise  of  Spain  and  the  East,  arranged 
in  neatly  shaded  booths;  in  the  midst  of  the 
square  gushed  with  unceasing  play  a  mag 
nificent  fountain,  and  not  far  from  it  the 
River  Rimac  murmured  over  its  pebbly  bed 
on  its  way  to  the  ocean,  passing  through  one 
of  the  loveliest  valleys  under  the  sun.  Peace 
and  plenty  and  contentment  seemed  to  per 
vade  all  classes  of  society,  but  it  wras  the 
stillness  that  precedes  the  bursting  of  the 
thunder-cloud. 

Had  the  unchanging  climate  of  Peru 
given  place  to  the  impetuous  fury  of  a 
tornado,  desolating  the  whole  face  of  nature 
in  its  wild  career,  the  beautiful  villas  and 
fair  fields  of  the  Rimac  would  not  have  pre 
sented  a  scene  of  such  utter  ruin  as  was 


22  LIFE   OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

caused  by  the  revolution.  Occupied  alter 
nately  by  Royalists  and  Patriots,  whatever 
escaped  from  the  rapacity  of  the  one  became 
a  prey  to  the  other.  If  the  inhabitants  had 
not  fled  from  personal  apprehension,  they 
were  torn  by  violence  from  their  dwellings 
and  consigned  to  a  prison  or  the  military 
shambles.  Their  horses  and  cattle  and  the 
fruits  of  the  earth  were,  without  reserve,  the 
spoils  of  war.  The  villages  and  haciendas 
occupied  by  the  soldiery  often  became 
scenes  of  the  most  desperate  forays  between 
the  contending  parties,  so  that  in  two  or 
three  years  ruin  and  devastation  usurped 
the  place  where  previously  everything  was 
to  be  found  necessary  to  minister  to  the 
comfort  and  luxury  of  the  ill-fated  inhabi 
tants.  With  a  wantonness  peculiar  to  the 
bitter  hostility  inspired  by  civil  war,  even 
the  choicest  fruits  and  the  finest  specimens 
of  art  were  unsparingly  swept  away.  The 
city  of  Rome,  when  conquered,  plundered, 
and  enslaved  by  barbarians,  did  not  exhibit 
more  savage  traces  of  ignorance  and  cruelty. 
Lima  passed  through  the  terrible  ordeal 
in  somewhat  happier  circumstances  than  the 
surrounding  country,  but  in  the  succession 
of  events  it  was  visited  by  an  ample  share 
of  calamity.  Society  was  razed  to  its  very 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO   BOLIVAR  23 

foundations.  Banishment,  confiscations, 
and  forced  loans  reduced  the  wealthiest 
families  to  beggary.  Their  plate,  their 
furniture,  and  indeed  everything  available 
were  sacrificed  for  the  means  of  present 
subsistence,  and  in  many  instances  their 
splendid  houses  were  occupied  by  soldiers 
of  fortune.  All  sources  of  revenue  were  cut 
off.  Whatever  remained  of  commerce  was 
in  the  hands  of  foreigners  who,  somewhat 
protected  by  their  neutral  character,  profited 
by  the  calamity  of  the  times.  Indeed,  such 
was  the  state  of  things  that  almost  any 
change  could  scarcely  fail  to  be  for  the 
better. 

At  the  time  we  arrived  the  Spanish  gen 
erals  were  in  possession  of  Callao  and  Lima, 
all  of  upper  Peru,  and  the  seacoast  from 
Callao  to  the  deserts  of  Atacama;  whilst 
the  Patriots  occupied  most  of  the  country 
and  coast  to  the  north. 

Under  such  circumstances,  with  two 
powerful  parties  contending  for  the  sover 
eignty  of  the  country,  it  was  to  be  expected 
that  conflicting  interests  would  lead  to 
difficulties  of  a  national  character. 

The  Spanish  Vice-king,  who  had  been 
twice  driven  from  the  capital  and  could 
claim  no  obedience  whatever  from  the 


24  LIFE   OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

people  without  heading  his  army  of  fifteen 
thousand  men  which  he  had  assembled  in 
upper  Peru,  still  claimed  the  right,  through 
his  subordinates  on  the  coast,  to  capture 
neutral  vessels  under  the  laws  of  the  Indies, 
whilst  Admiral  Guise,  in  command  of  his 
patriot  naval  forces  and  having  the  suprem 
acy  at  sea,  issued  his  paper  blockade  of  the 
whole  coast  occupied  by  the  Spaniards 
without  a  demonstration  of  force  for  their 
protection.  There  was  no  safety  for  neu 
tral  ships,  and  that  did  not  in  all  cases  secure 
our  ships  from  capture  and  condemnation. 
Our  merchants,  always  first  in  enterprise  of 
difficulty  and  danger,  were  first  amongst 
the  sufferers,  and  the  naval  Commander 
soon  found  that  the  duties  devolving  upon 
him  were  of  so  multifarious  and  delicate  a 
nature  that  the  most  wary  discrimination 
afforded  but  an  imperfect  prospect  of  a 
satisfactory  adjustment  of  the  evils  com 
plained  of.  Individual  sympathy  as  well  as 
national  considerations  prompted  us  by  all 
means  to  avoid  a  conflict  that  might  injure 
the  patriot  cause,  and  the  Spaniards  had 
nothing  upon  which  we  could  make  reprisals 
for  their  illegal  seizure,  if  we  had  been  so 
disposed. 
With  a  due  regard  for  our  commercial 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  25 

interests  and  the  preservation  of  friendly 
relations  with  the  Patriots,  it  finally  became 
apparent  that  recourse  must  be  had  to 
General  Bolivar,  who,  then  at  the  head  of 
the  combined  armies  of  Colombia  and  Peru, 
was  making  his  way  through  the  Andes 
to  meet  the  Viceroy,  Lacerna.  When  this 
was  determined  upon  as  the  course  to  be 
pursued,  the  individuals  interested  were 
called  upon  for  the  necessary  proofs  of  the 
spoliation  upon  their  property  by  the  Peru 
vian  naval  Commander,  and,  all  things 
being  in  readiness,  I  was  ordered  to  proceed 
to  the  headquarters  of  General  Bolivar  as 
bearer  of  despatches  to  him  from  Commo 
dore  Hull.  A  partial  knowledge  of  the 
Spanish  language  procured  for  me  this  inter 
esting  service,  and  I  entered  upon  it  with 
all  the  zeal  its  novel  character  was  calcu 
lated  to  inspire. 

Great  uncertainty  prevailed  as  to  the 
situation  occupied  by  General  Bolivar,  and 
the  most  profound  ignorance  was  betrayed, 
by  all  of  whom  we  made  inquiries,  respecting 
the  roads  by  which  his  line  of  march  could 
be  approached.  On  the  4th  of  June,  1824, 
I  embarked  in  the  schooner  Dolphin,  and  on 
the  6th  landed  at  the  little  town  of  Huacho 
to  the  north  of  Lima.  Meeting  there  with 


26  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

an  officer  of  the  Peruvian  army,  from  whom 
I  obtained  some  information,  I  determined 
to  take  my  departure  from  thence,  and, 
accordingly,  having  landed  my  baggage,  I 
took  up  my  abode  with  the  Governor  of  the 
place  for  my  accommodation  for  the  night  and 
such  assistance  as  it  was  necessary  I  should 
receive  from  him  for  the  prosecution  of  my 
journey. 

As  soon  as  I  was  seated  in  his  house  we 
entered  upon  official  business.  I  showed 
him  my  orders  from  Commodore  Hull  and  L 
large  package  of  papers  sewed  up  in  a  bag  of 
canvas.  He  took  the  order  and  looked  over 
it,  but  its  contents  were  as  incomprehensible, 
to  him  as  that  of  the  canvas  bag.  Conceiv 
ing,  however,  that  both  were  important  to 
La  patria,  he  was  ready  to  make  up  in  zeal 
for  his  want  of  comprehension.  His  friends 
el  primer o  Alcalde  and  Intendente  were 
called  in  to  his  assistance,  and,  availing 
themselves  of  the  explanations  I  made  them 
in  bad  Spanish,  they  furnished  me  with  a 
passport  that  would  have  done  justice  to 
the  fame  of  the  immortal  Sancho  Panza. 
It  commanded  all  governors  of  pueblos,  all 
military  and  civil  officers,  and  people  of  every 
description,  inhabitants  of  Peru,  to  furnish 
me  with  horses,  guides,  refreshment,  and 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  27 

whatever  assistance  I  might  require,  the 
same  being  necessary  for  facilitating  my 
arrival  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Libera 
tor.  I  was  fully  aware  that  such  a  passport 
must  be  regarded  as  preposterous  by  any 
intelligent  man,  as  the  Governor  of  Huacho 
was  neither  known  nor  had  the  least  author 
ity  beyond  his  little  village,  but,  as  it 
attached  an  unusual  degree  of  importance 
to  my  mission,  I  chose  rather  to  trust  to 
the  ignorance  and  good  nature  of  the  people 
with  whom  I  might  have  to  communicate 
on  the  way,  than  suggest  to  the  Governor  a 
modification  of  this  extravagant  document. 
Subsequently  I  had  abundant  cause  to  felici 
tate  myself  in  this  determination. 

Having  some  previous  knowledge  of  the 
condition  of  a  traveller  in  South  America, 
I  had  provided  myself  with  a  light  portable 
bed-saddle  and  bridle  and  arms;  and  I  was 
not  long  in  realizing  the  utility  of  the  first- 
named  article,  for  when  the  hour  of  rest 
arrived  I  found  that  the  Governor  had  no 
means  whatever  of  giving  me  tolerable 
accommodation  for  the  night. 

The  hour  appointed  for  my  departure  was 
six  in  the  morning,  when  horses  and  a  guide 
were  promised  to  be  in  readiness.  Long 
before  daylight  the  voices  of  the  inhabitants 


28  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

mingled  with  the  bursting  of  sky-rockets 
and  jingling  of  bells  in  honour  of  some  saint, 
sufficient  to  disturb  the  slumbers  of  all  that 
had  found  repose  in  defiance  of  vermin. 
Six  o'clock  arrived  and  there  were  no  horses. 
We  waited  with  impatience  until  eight, 
when  at  last  three  or  four  were  brought  to 
the  door  by  the  peasantry  who,  as  militia 
in  active  service,  were  in  attendance  on  the 
Governor  for  the  execution  of  his  orders. 
I  scarcely  saw  the  wretched  animals  before 
I  turned  from  them  in  disgust,  and  indeed 
my  mind  revolted  at  the  idea  of  making  use 
of  them  for  our  conveyance,  even  for  the 
distance  of  seven  leagues,  where  we  were 
promised  others.  The  Governor  answered 
my  remonstrances  by  declaring  there  were 
none  better  to  be  had.  They  were  literally 
galled  to  the  very  bone  and  so  poor  that 
they  did  not  appear  to  be  fit  for  any  service 
whatever.  I  determined  at  all  hazards  that 
I  would  not  make  use  of  them  and  made  my 
declaration  to  the  Governor  in  terms  so  posi 
tive  that,  to  free  himself  of  a  troublesome 
guest,  he  directed  some  of  his  militia  to 
seize  upon  the  first  good  horses  they  could 
find  coming  into  market,  to  whomsoever  they 
might  belong. 

Accordingly  three  of  them,   armed  with 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  29 

lances,  posted  themselves  in  one  of  the  prin 
cipal  streets  leading  from  the  country  to 
the  market  place,  to  waylay  such  unlucky 
paysanos  as  might  be  coming  in  with  their 
produce  at  this  inauspicious  hour.  It  was 
not  a  great  while  before  a  female  was  seen 
ambling  along  unsuspectingly  upon  a  sub 
stantial,  sleek-looking  steed  laden  with  full 
panniers  of  fruit  and  vegetables.  The  soldiers 
seized  the  horse  by  the  bridle  as  the  woman 
came  up  to  where  they  were  standing  and, 
without  further  ceremony  or  explanation, 
bade  her  dismount  and  yield  her  horse  to 
the  service  of  the  State.  A  scene  of  painful 
interest  ensued.  The  woman  at  first  obsti 
nately  refused  to  comply  with  the  demands 
of  the  soldiers,  saying  that  her  husband  was 
serving  in  the  Army  and  that  all  then-  horses 
but  this  had  been  taken  for  the  service  of 
the  State,  and  if  she  were  deprived  of  this 
also,  her  children  would  starve.  I  thought 
that  affecting  appeal  she  made  to  the  human 
ity  of  the  soldiers  would  have  prevailed  with 
them.  Such  a  scene  was  new  to  me,  but  to 
these  poor  countrymen  it  was  of  frequent 
occurrence,  which  probably,  together  with 
their  individual  misfortunes,  steeled  their 
hearts  against  the  sufferings  of  others.  The 
command  to  dismount  was  repeated  again 


30  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

and  again  with  the  inflexible  sternness  with 
which  it  was  first  given,  and  the  female,  at 
last  finding  that  resistance  and  expostula 
tion  were  unavailing,  suffered  herself  and 
panniers  to  be  taken  from  her  horse.  In  the 
bitterness  of  her  lamentation  I  approached 
her,  and,  placing  a  sum  of  money  in  her 
hands  sufficient  to  compensate  her  for  the 
risk  of  losing  the  animal  as  well  as  the  depri 
vation  of  his  services,  she  dried  her  tears 
and  gave  me  her  benediction.  Other  ani 
mals  were  provided  for  us  in  the  same  way, 
and  a  little  after  nine  I  set  out  in  company 
with  my  companion,  Mr.  Hunter,  and  an 
Indian  guide,  with  a  sad  presage  of  the 
future,  so  disagreeable  had  been  the  com 
mencement  of  our  journey. 

Our  road  lay  through  the  small  valley  of 
Huava  nearly  on  a  parallel  with  the  sea- 
coast,  and  for  three  or  four  miles  it  was 
skirted  with  a  wild  growth  of  cane  and 
algaroba  interrupted  occasionally  by  cul 
tivated  ground.  In  such  places  trees  of  the 
orange,  lemon,  fig,  and  guayaba,  with  those 
of  other  tropical  fruits,  were  tolerably  abun 
dant  and  the  ground,  intersected  by  numer 
ous  rivulets,  with  which  it  was  irrigated  at 
pleasure  by  the  husbandman,  sent  forth  in 
luxuriance  whatever  had  been  planted  there. 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO   BOLIVAR  31 

The  heavens  were  clear  and  bright  without 
a  cloud,  the  ah-  breathed  its  softest  zephyrs 
through  the  wild  leaves  that  half  the  way 
overhung  our  narrow  path.  The  birds  car 
oled  their  morning  lay  hi  sweet  accordance 
with  the  murmuring  streams,  save  which, 
the  silence  of  the  tomb  was  there.  A  charm 
pervaded  the  whole  scene  and  we  were  too 
much  under  its  influence  not  to  pass  over 
this  quiet  valley  with  truant  steps.  The 
enthusiast  accustomed  to  indulge  in  pleasant 
visions  of  the  fancy  could  alone  realize  our 
feelings  in  passing  through  the  little  valley 
of  Huava,  and  the  evanescence  of  such  a 
vision,  when  interrupted  by  some  disagree 
able  reality  of  human  life,  might  well  describe 
the  sensations  that  came  over  us  in  emerg 
ing  from  it. 

A  desert  of  sand  with  rude  and  inhos 
pitable  mountains  lay  before  us.  On  the 
borders  of  this  desert  was  situated  the  small 
town  of  Huaura,  containing  about  1000 
inhabitants.  At  this  place  the  guide  had 
been  directed  to  take  us  to  the  house  of 
the  Governor  for  breakfast,  such  being  the 
custom  in  respect  to  officers  travelling  in  the 
service  of  the  State,  and  to  which  I  found  hi 
the  beginning  of  our  journey  that  we  must 
conform,  there  being  no  houses  of  public 


32  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

accommodation  anywhere.  On  arriving  at 
the  Governor's  house  it  promised  such 
wretched  fare  that  we  did  not  long  delib 
erate  in  coming  to  the  determination  of 
contenting  ourselves  with  some  bread  that 
we  obtained  at  a  pulparia  near  at  hand. 
The  houses  of  Huaura  were  of  cane  and  clay. 
Its  appearance  was  wretched  and  that  of 
the  inhabitants  generally  of  extreme  poverty. 
With  but  a  few  minutes'  delay  we  continued 
on,  and  soon  found  ourselves  on  the  desert 
over  the  road  leading  to  the  valley  of  Bar 
ranca,  where  we  were  to  remain  for  the 
night. 

Two  or  three  miles  from  Huaura  we  came 
to  a  number  of  large  irregular  mounds  of 
earth  such  as  are  met  with  in  Peru,  and 
of  which  neither  history  nor  tradition  has 
furnished  any  account  that  can  be  relied  on 
respecting  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
made.  By  some  it  is  supposed  they  were 
burial  places,  some  suppose  the  treasures 
of  the  Incas  were  concealed  there  in  the 
time  of  the  conquest,  and  some  that  they 
were  reared  as  monuments  in  commem 
oration  of  important  events  or  the  reign 
of  distinguished  Incas.  It  is  certain  that 
human  remains  are  often  found  beneath 
them,  and  it  is  also  certain  that  great  treas- 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  33 

ure  in  gold  and  silver  ornaments,  as  well  as 
utensils  for  domestic  use,  have  been  dis 
covered  in  these  singular  monuments  of 
antiquity.  Of  those  now  before  us  I  received 
no  information  except  from  our  guide,  who, 
in  answer  to  my  question,  said  that  people 
without  baptism  had  been  buried  there,  and, 
not  being  good  Christians,  had  gone  to 
"los  infiernos." 

No  road  could  be  more  wearisome  or  less 
interesting  than  the  one  by  which  we  made 
our  advance  upon  Supe.  The  only  variety 
was  hill  and  dale  of  sand,  except  the  bones 
of  animals  that  had  perished  on  the  way, 
with  which  the  ground  was  strewed  over  the 
customary  track.  The  meridian  sun  poured 
down  its  vertical  rays  whilst  a  dry  and 
parching  heat  rose  from  the  arid  sands. 
Like  the  mariners  of  Columbus  in  approach 
ing  the  equator,  one  might  have  supposed, 
prompted  by  the  ignorance  of  those  early 
tunes,  that  we  were  fast  approaching  to  the 
confines  of  human  life.  About  three  in  the 
afternoon,  when  we  had  travelled  upward 
of  twenty  miles,  a  small  valley  near  the  sea 
shore  opened  upon  our  view.  Near  the 
centre  of  it  was  the  village  of  Supe,  con 
taining  four  or  five  hundred  inhabitants. 
Although  much  smaller  than  Huaura  we  were 


34  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

more  hospitably  received.  The  Governor, 
having  read  my  passport  from  Huacho, 
welcomed  me  into  his  house  where  he  intro 
duced  me  to  a  party  of  his  young  friends 
who  had  just  assembled  at  dinner.  The 
Ollapodrida  and  a  broiled  quarter  of  lamb 
were  already  smoking  on  the  table,  and 
highly  to  our  satisfaction,  we  were  cordially 
invited  to  partake.  It  was  a  large,  roughly 
made  oak  table,  without  cloth  or  cover,  on 
which  our  dinner  was  placed,  benches  were 
arranged  beside  for  seats,  and  with  three 
spoons  and  as  many  knives  and  forks,  ten 
of  us  dined  abundantly  without  any  other 
inconvenience  than  that  of  occasionally 
conferring  and  receiving  the  favor  of  an 
exchange  of  a  knife  for  a  spoon,  spoon  for 
fork,  etc.  I  know  not  whether  it  should  be 
spoken  of  as  an  inconvenience,  as  it  seemed 
at  the  time  to  promote  the  sociability  and 
good  understanding  of  the  company.  It 
was  particularly  pleasing  when  one  of  the 
young  ladies  proffered  the  use  of  her  fork  or 
spoon  and  perhaps  requested  one's  knife  in 
return. 

The  fastidious  slave  to  custom,  whose 
uncheckered  life  had  passed  smoothly  over 
the  current  of  time,  would  have  felt  himself 
in  an  awkward  predicament  seated  at  the 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO   BOLIVAR  35 

social  board  of  my  hospitable  entertainer, 
but  my  professional  pursuits  had  repeatedly 
placed  me  in  situations  where  I  found  it 
necessary  to  regulate  my  wants  according 
to  the  customs  or  necessities  of  other  people, 
and  the  principal  inconvenience  that  I  ex 
perienced  in  the  present  instance  was  that 
of  not  feeling  myself  sufficiently  familiar 
with  the  etiquette  of  the  society  in  which  I 
was  thrown.  My  kind  host  sent  round  his 
wine  in  liberal  abundance  with  many  a 
merry  jibe,  the  party  seemed  to  partake  of 
his  good  nature,  and  after  a  most  pleasant 
repast  we  arose  from  the  table  in  the  best 
humour  imaginable  and  as  good  friends,  per 
haps,  as  though  we  had  been  much  longer 
acquainted.  The  ladies  invited  me  with 
the  rest  of  the  company  to  join  them  in  the 
portico  para  fund  and  one  of  them  drew 
from  her  bosom  a  segar  box  which  she 
politely  handed  round  and  afterward  helped 
herself. 

The  day  was  far  advanced  when,  after 
interchanging  a  kind  farewell,  we  set  off  for 
Barranca.  We  had  three  leagues  to  go.  The 
road  was  the  same  as  that  we  had  passed 
over  in  the  morning,  but  the  sun  had  lost  its 
power,  and  our  dinner-party  furnished  us 
with  subjects  of  mirth  with  which  to  beguile 


36  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

the  time.  Barranca  is  situated  near  the 
mouth  of  a  small  rapid  river  that  takes  its 
rise  in  the  Andes.  The  valley  is  narrow  and 
the  town  contains  not  more  than  five  hun 
dred  to  a  thousand  inhabitants.  It  was 
after  sunset  when  we  got  there.  The  Gov 
ernor  directed  a  young  officer  to  conduct  me 
to  the  house  of  an  old  widow  lady  and  require 
of  her  to  furnish  us  with  accommodation 
for  the  night.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the 
agony  the  poor  old  woman  expressed  as 
she  burst  into  tears  and  exclamations  wher 
the  orders  of  the  Governor  were  delivered 
to  her.  She  declared  that  she  had  not  bread 
for  herself,  much  less  could  she  provide  for 
officers  of  the  State.  .  .  .  That,  besides  her 
poverty,  she  was  a  lone  woman,  and  it  was 
oppressive  cruelty  in  the  Governor  to  impose 
such  burdens  upon  her.  I  proposed  to  the 
officer  that  he  should  return  to  the  Gov 
ernor  and  ask  that  we  might  be  sent  to  some 
house  where  it  would  be  less  painful  to  the 
occupant  to  receive  us,  but  he  declined, 
saying  that  if  the  Governor  should  order  it 
otherwise  the  same  complaint  of  poverty 
would  be  made  by  any  inhabitant  of  Bar 
ranca.  Accordingly  I  set  about  to  reassure 
her.  Believing  that  her  principal  objection 
was  to  the  poverty  of  the  patriot  officers 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  37 

who  usually  travelled  at  the  expense  of  the 
State,  and  the  reluctant  citizens  upon  whom 
they  were  quartered  for  their  lodging  and 
temporary  accommodation,  I  declared  my 
ability  and  inclination  to  make  liberal  com 
pensation  for  all  her  trouble  and  expense, 
when  she  consented  to  receive  us.  Accus 
tomed  to  this  rude  imposition  of  strangers 
upon  her  hospitality,  she  soon  forgot  the 
restraint  naturally  to  have  been  expected 
from  the  manner  of  our  introduction,  and 
treated  us  with  the  familiar  courtesy  of 
friendly  visitors.  The  young  officer,  also, 
received  a  kinder  welcome  than  at  first. 
Companionable  in  his  disposition,  pleased 
with  the  novelty  of  his  new  acquaintance, 
he  was  hi  no  haste  to  depart  after  having 
fulfilled  the  important  command  with  which 
he  had  been  entrusted,  but,  taking  to  himself 
no  small  degree  of  credit  for  having  pro 
cured  for  me  so  good  a  lodging,  he  whiled 
away  the  evening  with  us,  consenting  to 
partake  of  the  good  cheer  our  kind  landlady 
prepared  for  us  in  the  best  manner  she 
could.  This  house  was  large  and  an  excel 
lent  dwelling,  for  the  place  belonged  to 
a  Royalist  who  had  been  banished  after 
having  been  deprived  of  all  the  visible 
means  by  which  his  family  could  be  sup- 


38  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

ported,  since  which  time  travellers  were 
occasionally  sent  to  the  helpless  woman  for 
accommodations,  to  aggravate  her  wretched 
change  of  fortune,  a  mode  of  punishment 
that  was  very  often  practised  upon  this 
unfortunate  class  of  citizens  in  Peru. 

At  six  on  the  following  morning,  June  7th 
the  Governor  sent  a  change  of  horses  by  the 
guide  that  was  to  accompany  us  as  far  as 
Patavilca,  the  guide  from  Huacho  having 
been  sent  back  with  the  horses  that  belonged 
there.  My  worst  apprehensions  wero 
realized  when  they  were  brought  to  tho 
door.  They  were  of  the  same  description 
as  those  first  proffered  to  us  at  Huacho, 
and  with  the  same  promptitude  as  at  that 
place  I  refused  to  receive  them.  I  have 
since  considered  my  conduct  on  these  occa 
sions,  as  well  as  some  others  subsequently, 
as  bordering  on  temerity,  and  by  all  unac 
quainted  with  the  necessity  of  a  like  deport 
ment  it  would  be  considered  presumptuous 
in  the  highest  degree.  My  experience,  how 
ever,  taught  me  that  by  this  means  alone 
could  I  have  proceeded  on  my  mission  with 
out  being  exposed  to  the  most  serious  calam 
ities.  The  Governor  of  Barranca  at  first 
insisted  that  there  were  no  other  horses,  but 
after  some  delay  procured  better  ones  for 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  39 

me,  and  late  in  the  morning  we  continued 
our  journey,  receiving  from  our  landlady  at 
parting  her  grateful  thanks  and  kindest 
wishes. 

We  were  gratified  hi  leaving  Barranca  to 
find  that,  instead  of  wading  through  the 
sands  of  the  sea  coast,  our  road  lay  hi  the 
interior  toward  the  mountains.  Delighted 
with  the  idea  of  soon  enjoying  the  grand  and 
magnificent  scenery  of  the  Andes,  a  new 
impulse  was  given  to  our  feelings.  Crossing 
the  wide  and  rapid  stream  of  Barranca,  we 
pursued  our  way  along  a  narrow  valley  skirted 
on  either  side  by  an  undulating  desert,  from 
which  here  and  there  arose  conspicuously 
huge  masses  of  black  or  darkly  colored  rock. 
The  valley  itself  was  mostly  inundated  from 
the  overflowing  of  the  river's  banks.  But 
little  of  it  was  cultivated;  it  was  overgrown 
with  wild  cane  and  stumpy  brushwood 
which  in  many  places  formed  an  arbour  over 
our  narrow  pathway. 

At  eleven  o'clock  we  arrived  at  the  small 
and  beautiful  village  of  Patavilca,  where  the 
old  Governor  received  us  with  the  politeness 
and  urbanity  of  a  gentleman  that  had  seen 
better  days.  The  office  of  governor  in  these 
small  places  conferred  no  advantage  what 
ever  upon  the  incumbent,  as  there  was 


40  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

neither  salary  nor  emolument  attached  to 
it.  On  the  contrary  he  usually  incurred  the 
odium  of  the  majority  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
upon  whom  in  the  exigencies  of  the  State 
he  was  called  upon  to  exercise  the  most 
oppressive  authority,  laws  and  individual 
rights  being  disregarded  in  the  almost  utter 
destitution  of  the  country.  Officers  of  the 
Army  were  constantly  passing  to  and  fro 
with  passports  from  the  Commander-in- 
chief  recommending  them  to  the  hospitality 
of  the  Governors  of  places,  and  to  the  poor 
Governor  no  other  alternative  was  left  than 
to  quarter  them  upon  some  citizen  if  he 
could  not  entertain  them  himself.  In  a  short 
time,  perhaps,  he  alienated  his  best  friends 
by  frequent  impositions  of  the  kind.  Hav 
ing  obtained  the  unenviable  preeminence, 
there  was  no  remedy  for  the  poor  Governor, 
for  resignations  were  not  received  at  this 
trying  period,  and  any  neglect  of  official 
duty  brought  upon  him  the  odium  of  sus 
pected  patriotism  and  at  no  distant  period 
its  fatal  consequences.  Don  Hose  Roxas, 
our  host  at  Patavilca,  was  a  good  patriot, 
having,  as  he  told  us,  devoted  his  only  son 
to  the  cause.  Whilst  he  entertained  us  with 
a  glass  of  sour  wine  and  some  broiled  goat's 
meat,  he  had  caused  a  relay  of  horses  and  a 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  41 

new  guide  to  be  furnished  to  take  us  to 
Huaracanga,  where  we  were  to  spend  the 
night. 

We  now  left  the  valley  and  pursued  our 
road  parallel  with  it  over  a  desert  and  broken 
country,  each  undulation  rising  higher  than 
the  other  as  we  advanced  in  the  interior. 
The  barren  rocks  that  here  and  there  rose 
in  rude  contrast  above  all  the  rest  of  the 
irregular  desert  became  more  and  more 
elevated,  corresponding  with  the  acclivity  of 
the  whole  face  of  nature  in  its  retrograde 
from  the  ocean.  Our  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
one  of  these  rude  spots  with  more  than 
common  interest  as  our  winding  road  led 
us  along  upon  its  base.  Inaccessible  on 
all  sides  but  one,  it  there  rose  at  an  angle 
of  about  forty-five  degrees,  and  parapet 
ranged  above  parapet  in  regular  succession 
from  near  the  base  almost  to  the  top,  which 
I  estimated  at  about  four  hundred  feet  high. 
Here  the  "Children  of  the  Sun"  made  one  of 
their  strongest  efforts  to  resist  or  foil  their 
invincible  conquerors.  Within  sight  of  this 
ancient  fortress  is  a  mound  of  earth  where 
a  recent  excavation  had  left  exposed  large 
numbers  of  human  bones,  and  I  remarked 
that  several  of  the  skulls  still  had  the  hair 
upon  them  almost  entire.  Pieces  of  woolen 


42  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

and  cotton  cloth  were  also  scattered  upon 
the  ground,  some  of  the  colors  of  which 
were  still  bright,  although  they  had  prob 
ably  lain  buried  in  the  earth  for  centuries. 
Many  things  are  found  in  these  places  in  a 
state  of  wonderful  preservation,  and  amongst 
other  remarkable  discoveries  that  have 
been  made  by  the  curious  or  the  avaricious 
was  a  banner  of  one  of  the  Incas.  It  was 
presented  to  General  Bolivar. 

We  had  not  moved  faster  than  a  slow 
walk  for  the  whole  day  with  our  wretched 
horses,  and  the  poor  creatures  gave  out 
a  little  before  we  arrived  at  Huaracanga. 
Had  they  been  able  to  travel  further,  the 
approach  of  night  would  not  have  prevented 
us  from  continuing  on,  such  was  the  miser 
able  and  inhospitable  appearance  of  this 
place.  The  village  consists  of  a  dozen  small 
huts  that  were  built  of  reeds.  The  gov 
ernor,  who  was  at  the  head  of  affairs,  el  pri- 
mero  Alcalde,  and  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants 
were  Indians,  extremely  poor  and  filthy. 
Here  and  for  some  distance  below,  the  rocks 
and  mountains  had  encroached  upon  the 
valley  so  as  to  confine  it  to  a  narrow  space 
upon  the  banks  of  the  rapid  stream  that 
rushed  along  over  its  deep-worn  bed  and 
upon  the  borders  of  which  alone  the  prin- 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  43 

ciple  of  vegetation  was  seen  to  exist.  No 
signs  of  animal  life  met  the  eye  but  in  the 
squalid  creatures  of  inhabitants  who  seemed 
to  regard  us  with  silent  apathy;  and  the 
outline  of  the  Andes,  which  was  now  pre 
sented  in  bold  relief,  was  the  only  object  the 
weary  and  worn  traveller  could  behold  with 
out  disgust  or  sinking  of  the  heart. 

We  had  partaken  of  food  but  once 
through  the  day  and  our  disappointment 
may  be  imagined  when,  after  liberal  prom 
ises  to  the  Alcalde  if  he  would  provide  well 
for  us,  nothing  was  set  before  us  but  some 
boiled  roots  of  the  cassava.  Blessed  with 
health  and  good  appetites,  we  could  ill  digest 
such  frugal  fare,  but,  after  asking  in  vain 
for  meat  or  bread,  we  submitted  to  it  with 
the  best  grace  we  could.  The  Alcalde  had 
neither  bed,  table,  nor  seats  of  any  kind. 
The  only  articles  of  furniture  in  his  hut 
were  two  iron  cooking  utensils  and  two 
small  mats  that  were  laid  upon  the  ground 
for  sleeping.  If  our  desolate  resting-place 
exhibited  to  our  observation  so  little  of 
animal  life,  we  were  not  insensible  to  its 
existence  when  we  had  stretched  our  weary 
limbs  for  repose,  and  in  the  morning  we 
arose  unrefreshed,  rejoicing  in  the  light  of 
another  day. 


44  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

The  Alcalde  had  been  faithful  to  his 
promise  of  having  our  horses  ready  at  ar 
early  hour.  They  were  miserably  poor  and 
little  did  we  expect  they  would  hold  out  to 
transport  us  to  Gulcan,  the  next  inhabited 
place  on  our  road.  Weary,  half  famished, 
and  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  faring 
still  worse,  we  set  off,  happily  with  a  good 
share  of  patience  and  fortitude.  Not  even 
a  shrub  or  spear  of  grass  was  anywhere  to 
be  seen  over  the  country  we  passed  between 
Huaracanga  and  Gulcan.  The  steepness  of 
the  road  increased  and  hills  of  sand  and  rocks 
had  swelled  into  mountains.  A  few  miles 
from  us  and  apparently  almost  at  our  feet, 
mountain  range  rose  above  mountain  range, 
at  first  with  intervals  through  which  our  cir 
cuitous  path  winded  its  narrow  way  over 
them,  but  in  the  distance  they  seemed  to 
unite  in  one  solid  mass  terminating  in  the 
clouds  and  presenting  a  barrier  that  in 
appearance  would  defy  all  human  efforts 
or  ingenuity  to  pass.  The  river  had  sunk 
to  a  deep  ravine  from  which  its  impetuous 
murmurs  even  could  not  be  heard,  when, 
descending  a  barren  mountain,  we  came 
upon  a  cultivated  plain  about  a  mile  in 
circumference  and  we  dismounted  at  the 
house  of  the  Governor  of  the  small  Indian 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  45 

village  of  Gulcan.  In  answer  to  our  first 
demands  he  replied  that  he  had  neither  food 
nor  horses  for  us  to  continue  our  journey. 
This  was  a  little  too  much  to  be  borne. 
We  had  partaken  of  no  other  nourishment 
than  the  cassava  root  we  obtained  at  Hua- 
racanga  for  more  than  twenty-four  hours, 
and  our  horses  were  worn  out. 

With  the  energy  of  a  desperate  man  I 
presented  my  passport  to  the  Governor  a 
second  time,  telling  him  to  read  and  disobey 
at  his  peril.  I  required  of  him  to  provide 
us  with  food  and  horses  instantly,  promis 
ing  an  ample  share  of  the  Liberator's  ven 
geance  for  every  moment  of  unnecessary 
delay.  That  the  fear  of  punishment  might 
be  stimulated  by  the  additional  motive  of 
self-interest,  I  held  out  the  prospect  of  ample 
remuneration  as  a  reward  for  his  ready 
compliance,  and  the  Governor,  yielding  to 
his  timidity  or  a  sense  of  official  duty,  sud 
denly  recollected  that  there  were  horses  of 
the  State  at  his  disposal  and  that  there 
were  goats  feeding  on  the  plain  which  we 
could  not  fail  to  have  observed.  A  few 
hours'  delay,  therefore,  placed  at  our  com 
mand  a  change  of  guide  and  horses  as  well 
as  the  means  of  quieting  the  cravings  of 
nature  —  bread,  however,  we  could  not 


46  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

obtain,  and  the  emphatic  answer  of  "no 
hay"  was  made  to  our  calls  for  it.  When 
about  to  take  leave  of  the  Governor  we  were 
made  sensible  of  his  scrupulous  delicacy  in 
observing  the  point  of  honour,  or  if  an  ill- 
natured  construction  were  given  to  his  con 
duct,  of  his  fear  of  offending  the  higher 
powers.  I  had  placed  in  his  hand  a  sum  of 
money  as  compensation  for  what  I  had 
received  and  to  which  at  first  he  made  nc 
objection,  but,  having  taken  counsel  of  the 
Alcalde,  with  whom  he  held  discussion  for 
some  minutes,  he  came  to  me  with  concern 
saying  that  it  was  neither  lawful  nor  proper 
for  him  to  receive  money  as  he  was  Gov 
ernor  of  Gulcan,  nor  was  it  matter  of  formal 
ity  with  him  only,  for  he  continued  with 
persevering  obstinacy  to  insist  upon  my 
taking  the  money  back,  that  neither  the 
crime  nor  dishonour  of  its  acceptance  should 
attach  to  him  —  until  I  mounted  my  horse 
and  for  the  last  time  bade  him  "adios." 

I  was  not  a  little  perplexed  in  my  con 
jectures  respecting  the  old  Indian's  singu 
lar  pertinacity.  Had  I  received  nothing 
but  the  horses  which  really  belonged  to  the 
Government,  or  if  he  were  receiving  his 
support  from  it,  the  matter  would  have 
been  plain  enough,  but  as  he  had  killed  one 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  47 

of  his  goats  for  me,  was  half  clad,  his  author 
ity  extending  over  the  inhabitants  of  but 
half  a  dozen  wretched  huts  and  he  was  re 
ceiving  nothing  for  his  office,  I  could  not 
unravel  the  mystery  of  his  declining  the 
acceptance  of  a  sum  of  money  that  would 
have  tempted  the  cupidity  of  one  in  a 
higher  station. 

Our  reflections  were  by  no  means  dis 
turbed  by  the  rapidity  of  our  travelling,  for 
besides  the  steepness  of  the  path  by  which 
we  ascended  mountain  after  mountain,  our 
horses  were  such  as  had  been  given  us 
through  the  whole  journey,  so  poor  and  ill 
used  that  over  the  fairest  road  they  could 
not  have  been  goaded  on  faster  than  a  slow 
walk.  In  the  language  of  a  gentleman 
whose  pleasant  fancy  I  recall  with  the  most 
agreeable  associations,  "Tho'  they  travelled 
slow  they  were  going  fast."  Should  this 
simple  narrative  ever  meet  his  perusal,  I 
pay  but  a  just  tribute  to  his  indulgent 
temper  in  presuming  that  he  will  forgive 
the  borrowed  phrase  in  its  present  appli 
cation. 

We  had  now  begun  to  ascend  the  Andes, 
and  a  scant  vegetation  appeared  on  some 
of  the  ranges  over  which  we  passed.  Our 
road  sometimes  approached  the  course  of 


48  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

the  river  from  the  precipice  above  which  it 
was  occasionally  seen  indistinctly,  rushing 
furiously  along.  The  sun  had  sunk  behind 
the  mountains  some  hours  before,  and  the 
shadows  of  night  began  to  close  around  us 
when  beneath  a  huge  mountain  that  rose 
perpendicularly  over  our  heads  we  came  to 
a  beautiful  and  romantic  dell  luxuriant  with 
vegetation.  This  was  called  Chancallain. 
We  here  found  a  curate,  the  only  white  ma  a 
we  had  seen  since  we  left  Patavilca.  Tte 
town  contained  not  more  than  a  dozen  inhab 
itants,  and  save  the  curate  all  were  Indians. 
A  number  of  trees  of  the  guayaba  and 
orange  had  attained  to  a  large  size  and  the 
ripe  and  luscious  fruit  lay  thickly  scat 
tered  on  the  ground.  The  Governor,  a 
young  man  with  more  of  sprightliness  and 
good  nature  than  we  had  anywhere  met 
with  for  some  time,  received  us  kindly  in 
his  hut,  where  there  was  but  one  room  and 
no  furniture.  When  we  asked  him  for  guide 
and  horses  he  did  not  reply  in  the  customary 
phrase  "no  hay  biestas"  with  which  we  had 
become  so  familiar  as  to  expect  it  as  a  mat 
ter  of  course,  and  without  pretending  that 
he  could  not  furnish  us  with  food,  he 
civilly  invited  us  to  partake  of  broth  and 
cassava  root  as  soon  as  it  could  be  prepared, 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO   BOLIVAR  49 

apologizing  for  his  poverty  which  did  not 
enable  him  to  provide  for  us  hi  any  other 
way.  A  skin  stretched  over  a  square  frame 
a  little  elevated  served  for  a  table,  the 
broth  was  placed  upon  it  hi  a  wooden  bowl 
and  two  horn  spoons  enabled  us  to  carry 
it  to  our  half-famishing  lips.  Our  sleep 
ing  accommodation  corresponded  with  our 
fare  in  other  respects.  On  the  ground  in  a 
new  unfinished  reed  hut,  our  beds  were  laid 
as  had  been  customary  with  us  since  the 
commencement  of  our  journey,  with  saddles 
for  pillows. 

One  would  suppose  that  the  poppy  with 
all  its  bewildering  influence  would  quickly 
have  closed  around  us  the  curtain  of  forget- 
fulness,  and  we  promised  ourselves  nothing 
less  than  refreshing  sleep.  If  the  reader 
has  been  the  victim  of  a  burning  fever  with 
all  its  attendant,  excited  restlessness,  he 
has  realized  our  irritable  state  of  body  and 
mind;  added  to  this  the  hut  had  no  roof  and 
the  round  full  moon  sailed  through  the  clear 
and  cloudless  azure  of  heaven  with  a  splen 
dour  that  might  vie  with  the  light  of  day, 
and  being  near  its  zenith  our  hut  was  illu 
mined  with  a  rich  stream  of  its  silver  rays. 
We  closed  our  eyes  and  courted  oblivion  in 
vain  until  midnight,  when  a  tramp  of  horses 


50  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

and  the  approach  of  several  Indians  roused 
us  from  our  dormant  postures.  Always 
watchful  to  guard  against  surprise  and 
robbery,  the  guide  was  dismayed  as  he 
entered  and  saw  us  standing  with  cocked 
pistols  to  receive  him.  He  communicated 
to  us  in  few  words  that  the  Governor,  beicg 
under  the  necessity  of  leaving  home  on 
public  business,  had  caused  our  mules  to  be 
brought  up  that  he  might  despatch  us 
before  his  departure.  The  unusual  hour, 
and  the  improbable  excuse  of  the  Governor, 
with  connecting  circumstances,  of  distrust, 
impressed  us  with  a  belief  that  some  evil 
design  was  premeditated  against  us.  The 
guides  communicated  from  place  to  place 
that  I  paid  liberally  for  everything,  an 
unusual  circumstance  for  a  traveller  at  this 
time,  and,  knowing  that  I  carried  about  me 
a  sum  of  money  that  might  well  tempt  the 
poor  people  by  whom  I  was  entertained  and 
directed  on  my  road,  such  an  enterprise  as 
I  now  apprehended  would  not  have  aston 
ished  me  in  the  least.  Well  armed,  we  had 
no  fear  of  a  fair  encounter,  and,  having 
in  the  presence  of  the  Governor  and  his 
assembled  auditors  carefully  examined  our 
pistols,  we  mounted  and  took  leave  in  a 
manner  that  conveyed  to  him  that  we  were 


PAULDING'S  VISIT  TO  BOLIVAR  51 

4 

prepared  for  any  emergency  that  might 
befall  us.  The  Governor's  purpose  had 
changed  or  our  suspicions  had  wronged  him, 
for  we  continued  our  road  unmolested." 


CHAPTER  V 

IN   THE   MIDST   OF   THE   ANDES 

were  now  in  the  midst  of  the  Andes. 
Immense  mountains  rose  all  round  us  in 
wild  sublimity.  Our  path  was  scarcely 
wide  enough  for  two  horses  to  pass  in  safety 
yet.  On  one  side  of  it  perpendicular  rocks 
rose  in  huge  masses  and  on  the  other  was 
a  fearful  precipice  that  made  one  dizzy  to 
look  down  it.  At  the  bottom  of  this  yawn 
ing  chasm  the  Barranca  River  was  occasion 
ally  indicated,  as  in  sportive  gambols  over 
its  rocky  bed  the  moonbeams  played  upon 
its  ripples.  The  necessity  of  caution  had 
appeared  evident  enough  to  us  in  many 
places  that  we  had  passed  on  the 
two  preceding  days,  but  the  danger  was 
temporary  and  of  an  ordinary  character, 
whilst  this  continued  for  leagues  together, 
and  it  was  clearly  evident  that  one  false 
step  of  the  mule  toward  the  precipice 
would  consign  the  luckless  traveller  to  inev 
itable  destruction. 

52 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  53 

Though  mules  are  proverbially  sure 
footed,  our  watchfulness  was  unceasing,  and 
as  the  surest  means  of  guarding  against  the 
danger  of  a  fall  we  determined  to  throw 
ourselves  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  path 
should  the  mule  stumble  and  it  were  pos 
sible  to  do  so.  We  passed  along  in  safety 
over  many  a  steep  and  difficult  crag,  when 
a  little  after  daylight  and  not  far  from 
Marca  a  smooth  steep  ledge  was  presented 
reaching  entirely  across  our  path.  The 
guide  and  my  companion  passed  it  one 
after  the  other  in  safety,  but  as  ill  fortune 
would  have  it  my  mule  slipped  and  fell 
upon  his  side.  Happily  for  me  my  prede 
termination  and  presence  of  mind  brought 
me  under  the  ledge,  so  that  I  was  fairly 
landed  clear  of  the  mule  without  serious 
bruise  or  injury. 

When  personal  safety  was  no  longer  to 
be  considered,  my  liveliest  apprehensions 
were  excited  for  the  safety  of  my  mule, 
saddle,  bridle,  holsters,  and  pistols,  which  I 
had  not  the  least  doubt  would  be  precipi 
tated  down  the  fearful  chasm  as  the  animal 
should  rise.  From  this  painful  suspense  I 
was  relieved  in  a  few  moments,  for  the  crea 
ture  rose  and  fairly  balanced  himself  without 
one  step  toward  the  precipice,  as  if  the 


54  LIFE  OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

instinct  of  his  nature  had  pointed  out  the 
danger  to  which  he  was  exposed. 

In  a  few  hours  afterward  we  reachec 
Marca,  the  last  habitable  spot  on  this  side 
the  Andes,  and  our  only  resting-place  until 
we  should  descend  beyond  the  range.  Hero 
we  found  a  town  containing  several  thou 
sand  Indians  who  lived  in  huts  of  reed  filled 
in  with  clay,  without  ornament  or  the  least 
appearance  of  neatness.  On  the  north, 
south,  and  west  of  it  the  mountains  rose 
with  a  sharp  angle  to  a  great  height  richly 
covered  with  herbage,  and  here  and  there 
habitations.  Domestic  animals  were  graz 
ing  there,  and  where  seen  near  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  looked  so  diminutive  that  a 
horse  did  not  appear  larger  than  a  dog. 

Our  eyes  were  turned  to  the  east  with 
singular  delight.  In  the  direction  of  the 
river,  and  at  first  by  a  narrow  pass,  we  looked 
along  over  the  tops  of  mountains  that 
descended  one  beneath  the  other  with  the 
most  regular  gradation  until  far,  far  away 
the  eye  rested  upon  a  wide  expanse  of 
heavy  atmosphere  with  its  bright  and 
smooth  surface  lighted  by  the  first  rays  of 
the  rising  sun  and  looking  in  the  distance 
like  the  unruffled  bosom  of  a  widely  extended 
lake.  My  companion  at  first  exclaimed 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  55 

that  he  beheld  the  ocean,  and  such  was  the 
delusion  that  our  doubts  were  not  removed 
until  the  broad  glare  of  day  was  thrown 
upon  the  mountains  and  the  mist,  showing 
things  in  their  natural  aspect. 

At  Marca  we  would  most  willingly  have 
rested  for  awhile,  but  our  exhausted  and 
almost  sinking  frames  were  stimulated  to 
further  effort  by  the  disgust  inspired  at 
beholding  the  filthy  and  miserable  interior 
of  the  Governor's  habitation.  We  therefore 
contented  ourselves  with  getting  such  repose 
as  a  sitting  or  leaning  posture  w^ould  afford 
us  until  fresh  mules  could  be  brought  for 
our  use  from  the  adjacent  mountains.  We 
here  found  an  abundance  of  bread  and  the 
inhabitants  were  well  supplied  with  all  the 
necessaries  of  life.  They  did  not  appear, 
however,  to  be  more  than  half  civilized,  and 
a  great  proportion  of  them  did  not  speak 
the  Spanish  language.  The  Governor  was 
a  white  man,  a  noisy  politician,  and,  as  far 
as  I  could  judge  from  his  language  and 
appearance,  a  vagabond  suited  to  the  tunes. 
He  was,  however,  sufficiently  prompt  in 
the  assistance  we  required  of  him,  and  in  a 
reasonable  time  enabled  us  to  continue  on 
our  journey. 

The  mountains  now  had   become  green 


56  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

with  grass  and  the  scanty  foliage  of  stunted 
shrubs,  flowers  fragrant  and  beautiful 
peered  from  amongst  the  rocks  and  con 
trasted  in  pleasing  variety  with  the  sombre 
hue  of  the  many  prominent  objects  'midst 
which  they  were  scattered.  In  looking 
around  us  we  sometimes  found  ourselves  in 
a  circle  of  steep  high  mountains  where  the 
path  was  not  perceptible  for  twenty  paces 
before  or  behind  us  and  which  could  only 
be  pursued  by  the  practised  eye  of  the 
guide.  The  condor  was  seen  in  numbers 
perched  upon  some  projecting  crag  or  sail 
ing  majestically  'round  the  cloud-capped 
peaks.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  had 
arrived  near  the  summit  of  the  Cordillera, 
where  for  a  considerable  extent  we  entered 
upon  table-land  of  gentle  ascent.  There 
for  the  first  time  we  saw  the  vecuna,  an 
animal  much  resembling  a  sheep,  with  wool 
of  great  fineness  and  a  pale  red  hue.  Flocks 
of  from  five  to  ten  were  numerously  scat 
tered  about  upon  the  plains  and  adjoining 
mountains  and  where  they  happened  to  be 
near  our  path  they  scarcely  ever  retired  at 
our  approach.  Patches  of  snow  and  ice 
resumed  the  place  of  flowers  and  herbage 
as  we  neared  "La  Punta. "  Although  the 
warm  season  was  far  advanced,  whatever 


IN   THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  57 

of  buoyancy  or  pleasing  association  had 
been  inspired  by  the  summer  smiles  of 
our  morning  and  mid-day  ride  was  now  as 
suddenly  changed  to  the  melancholy  gloom 
of  winter. 

A  cloudless  sun  was  just  sinking  in  the 
west  when  we  came  to  "La  Punt  a"  or  the 
highest  peak  of  the  black  Cordillera.  Here 
a  scene  all  at  once  burst  upon  us  calculated 
to  fill  the  wondering  mind  with  unbounded 
admiration  and  delight.  A  valley  some 
thousands  of  feet  deep,  and  a  league  or  two 
across,  intervened  between  us  and  the 
eternal  snow-covered  Andes.  In  front  of 
us,  to  the  right  and  to  the  left  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  were  masses  of  huge  mountains 
glittering  with  the  last  rays  of  the  setting 
sun.  Fancy  can  not  conceive  and  language 
can  not  describe  the  magnificence  and  splen 
dour  of  the  beautiful  and  endless  scene.  I 
can  in  no  way  so  well  express  my  predomi 
nant  feeling  at  the  tune  as  by  saying  in  the 
language  of  the  poet,  "I  looked  from  nature 
up  to  nature's  God." 

If  physical  nature  in  its  most  lowly  and 
humble  features  will  sometimes  call  forth  the 
ardent  aspirations  of  man  toward  the  great 
Author  of  creation,  how  must  the  soul  kindle 
at  beholding  the  grand  outline  of  His  work 


58  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

where  the  impress  is  so  bold  and  palpable, 
not  only  bold  and  palpable  to  the  mind,  but 
dazzling  the  imagination  with  its  unparalleled 
beauty  in  its  wildest  flights.  A  giant  city 
filled  with  spires  and  domes  of  burnished 
gold  would  convey  but  a  faint  idea  of  the 
grand  and  glittering  splendour  of  the  Andes 
as  they  appeared  to  us  from  "La  Punt  a." 
The  eye  strayed  from  sunlit  peak  to  deep 
valleys  where  the  rays  of  light  fell  obliquely, 
and  the  snow  was  seen  through  the  thick 
shadows  of  the  mountains  only.  Thence 
over  other  peaks  into  other  valleys  in  end 
less  variety. 

We  felt  what  is  experienced  by  all  trav 
ellers  here,  a  severe  headache  and  great 
difficulty  of  respiration.  So  much  did  it 
affect  my  companion,  Mr.  H.,  that  any 
alternative  seemed  preferable  to  him  to  con 
tinuing  on,  although  it  was  little  better  than 
madness  to  think  of  anything  else.  There 
was  but  little  change  from  day  to  night. 
The  snows  of  the  Cordilleras  threw  the 
reflected  rays  of  the  full  moon  around  us  so 
that  we  could  see  quite  as  well  as  though  it 
had  been  day.  It  was  well  for  us  that  it 
was  so,  for  without  a  broad  light  and  the 
experience  of  our  guide  it  was  impossible  to 
find  the  way  down  the  mountain.  We  were 


IN   THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  59 

several  times  astray  and  had  to  retrace  our 
steps  after  coming  to  a  dangerous  precipice, 
and  indeed  for  a  long  time  I  thought  we  were 
going  at  random,  for  there  were  no  marks 
whatever,  over  the  hard  and  flinty  rocks, 
of  other  travellers  having  gone  before  us. 
'  When  for  several  hours  we  had  descended 
with  toil  and  difficulty,  hurrying  our  wretched 
beasts  over  the  ground  as  fast  as  we  could 
and  suffering  excessively  with  cold,  Mr.  H. 
became  so  ill  that  I  was  fearful  he  would 
have  fallen  from  his  horse,  and,  feeling  great 
solicitude  for  some  habitable  resting-place, 
I  addressed  the  guide  for  the  first  time, 
asking  of  him  the  information  I  wished  to 
obtain.  He  made  no  reply  and  a  repetition 
of  the  same  question  was  treated  with  the 
same  obstinate  silence.  Impatient  with  toil 
and  vexed  with  what  I  conceived  to  be  impu 
dence,  threats  succeeded  to  interrogatories 
and,  by  the  poor  fellow's  confusion  and  un 
intelligible  speech,  I  was  for  the  first  time 
informed  of  his  ignorance  of  the  Spanish 
language.  Exhortation  to  bear  his  suffer 
ings  with  patience  and  fortitude  was  the  only 
assistance  I  could  now  afford  Mr.  H.,  and, 
bearing  up  manfully  against  pain  and 
exhaustion,  we  arrived  at  the  Indian  city  of 
Araquai  at  the  foot  of  the  Cordillera  a  little 


60  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

after  midnight.  A  church  spire  rose  from 
near  the  middle  of  the  clay-built  town,  which 
appeared  large  enough  to  contain  about  two 
thousand  inhabitants.  Through  the  narrow 
streets  our  guide  conducted  us  to  the  house 
of  the  curate,  where,  after  having  knocked 
for  a  long  time,  he  was  saluted  by  a  soldie:' 
in  his  native  dialect,  whom  we  followed  to 
the  house  of  the  Governor.  In  the  middle 
of  the  room  to  which  we  were  admitted  a 
large  table  was  standing,  and  around  it  by 
the  flickering  of  a  rush  light  we  saw  a  num 
ber  of  officers  and  travellers  lying  upon  the 
ground  with  their  heads  pillowed  upon  their 
saddles. 

When  it  is  felt  that  there  is  no  remedy  for 
privations  and  sufferings  man  is  taught 
patiently  to  submit  to  his  necessities,  and, 
with  little  ceremony  throwing  ourselves 
beside  some  sleeping  fellow  traveller,  we 
enjoyed  a  sound  and  refreshing  repose  till 
long  after  the  sun  had  thrown  his  oblique 
rays  over  the  Cordilleras,  though  his  broad 
disk  did  not  appear  until  the  morning  was 
far  advanced.  For  the  first  time  we  received 
certain  information  of  the  headquarters  of 
General  Bolivar,  who  was  now  at  Huaraz, 
only  two  leagues  from  Arequai.  It  wits 
noon  before  our  horses  were  ready  for  us. 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  61 

We  rode  along  upon  the  base  of  the  Cordil 
leras  about  one  league  from  the  snows. 
High  up  the  mountains  all  around  us  were  rich 
fields  of  sugar-cane,  Indian  corn,  and  barley. 
Places  apparently  almost  inaccessible  wTere 
cultivated  and  seemed  to  promise  an  abun 
dant  harvest.  Trees  of  the  guaydba,  cheri- 
moya,  orange,  and  lemon  were  clustered 
around  the  uncomfortable-looking  mud  huts. 

Although  the  distance  from  Arequai  to 
Huaraz  was  but  six  miles,  we  were  upward 
of  five  hours  hi  performing  the  distance. 
At  6  P.  M.  we  entered  the  city  and  were 
directed  to  the  house  of  the  Prefect.  Here 
everything  bore  a  totally  different  aspect  from 
that  of  all  the  places  we  had  seen  before  - 
many  of  the  houses  were  large  and  elegant, 
the  streets  were  wide  and  well  paved,  and 
officers  and  soldiers  passed  to  and  fro  with 
the  martial  bearing  of  their  profession. 
The  Prefect  was  a  military  officer  with  the 
rank  of  colonel.  As  soon  as  I  had  communi 
cated  my  business  to  him  he  gave  orders  to 
one  officer  to  go  and  procure  me  lodgings 
and  to  another  to  accompany  me  to  the 
house  of  the  Liberator. 

With  a  beard  unshorn  for  the  whole  time 
since  the  commencement  of  my  journey, 
carrying  about  me  a  goodly  portion  of  the 


62  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

dust  and  dirt  that  I  had  fallen  in  with  by 
the  way,  I  had  no  desire  to  be  presented  to 
His    Excellency    until    I    had    made    some 
change  in  my  dress  and  appearance,  and  to 
that  purpose  addressed  myself  freely  to  the 
Prefect.     It  was   evident   that   he  did  not 
differ   with   me   in   opinion   as   to   what   I 
proposed,   but   after   a   little   hesitation   he 
remarked    that    his    instructions    from    the 
Liberator  were  such  that  he  could  not  take 
the   responsibility   of   so   much   delay  and, 
though  reluctantly,  I  acquiesced  and  took 
my  leave  of  him  in  company  with  the  officer. 
Passing  from  the  street  we  entered  a  wide 
court  where  the  guard  was  stationed.     The 
officer  of  it,  a  captain  or  lieutenant,  was  a 
dark  mulatto,   and   several   of  the  soldiers 
were   of   the   same   mongrel   race.     Having 
been  announced,  in  a  few  moments  I  found 
myself  in  a  situation  that  required  all  the 
self-possession    I    could  call  to  my  aid.     I 
was  ushered  into  a  long  hall  where   General 
Bolivar  was  seated   at   dinner  with   about 
fifty   of   his   officers   in   splendid   uniforms. 
His  Excellency  rose  from  the  table,  I  was 
introduced  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States, 
he  asked   my  rank,  shook  me   cordially  by 
the  hand,  and  bade  me  be  seated  alongside 
of  him.     He  invited  me  to  dine,  but  readily 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  63 

excused  me  when  I  declined  doing  so.  "I 
presume  you  have  had  little  wine  on  the 
road  you  have  travelled/7  said  he,  "and 
therefore  you  will  not  refuse  to  take  a  glass 
of  champagne  with  me." 

He  asked  me  a  variety  of  questions  about 
my  journey,  talked  freely  upon  various 
subjects,  bade  the  officers  to  fill  round  with 
wine,  and  introduced  me  by  drinking  my 
health  in  a  bumper.  His  cordiality,  his 
frankness,  and  his  unceremonious  courtesy 
relieved  me  entirely  from  the  awkward  feel 
ing  I  had  experienced  at  my  first  intro 
duction.  He  continued  to  talk  incessantly 
and  with  great  animation  whilst  he  remained 
at  the  table,  which  was  but  for  a  short  time 
after  my  arrival.  When  he  desired  no 
longer  to  continue  the  pleasures  of  the  table 
he  became  silent,  and  rising  from  his  seat 
the  officers  immediately  took  their  leave. 
After  the  company  had  retired  I  asked 
whether  His  Excellency  would  then  receive 
the  despatches  I  had  the  honour  of  bearing 
to  him  or  whether  they  should  be  delivered 
on  the  following  day,  to  which  he  replied, 
'I  will  receive  them  now  and  examine 
them  immediately.  You  shall  return  to 
your  Commander  with  my  reply  as  soon  as 
it  is  possible  to  have  it  prepared  for  you." 


64  LIFE  OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

He  apologized  for  not  entertaining  me  in 
his  own  house,  saying  there  was  not  a  room 
hi  it  unoccupied,  and,  calling  to  him  Captain 
Wilson,  one  of  his  aides,  bade  him  obtain 
comfortable  lodgings  for  me  in  the  house  of 
some  citizen.  "You  must  come  and  break 
fast  with  me  to-morrow  morning,"  said  he, 
"  and  be  a  guest  at  my  table  whilst  you 
remain  at  Huaraz. " 

Captain  Wilson  and  myself  were  joined  by 
the  officer  who  had  been  despatched  by  the 
Prefect  to  find  lodgings  for  me  and  by  whom 
we  were  conducted  to  the  house  of  Don 
Emanuel  Sal  y  Rosa,  one  of  the  Alcalde  of 
the  city.  Don  Emanuel  was  not  at  home, 
and  his  wife,  as  usual,  told  a  lamentable 
story  of  their  poverty.  The  Peruvian 
officer  ridiculed  the  lady's  plea  of  poverty, 
calling  her  attention  to  the  comfortable 
appearance  of  everything  about  her  house, 
and  I  know  not  how  the  matter  would  have 
ended  had  not  Don  Emanuel  come  in  and 
put  a  stop  to  the  controversy  by  saying  his 
house  and  everything  in  it  was  at  our  service. 
The  favorable  impression  that  this  gentle 
manly  conduct  inspired  was  fully  sustained 
by  his  uniform  politeness  and  attention 
afterward,  and  I  still  remember  him  as  one 
amongst  a  number  of  men  it  has  been  my 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  65 

good  fortune  to  meet  with  whose  high 
grade  of  character  has  eminently  distin 
guished  them  from  the  ordinary  mass  of 
mankind.  Senora  Sal  y  Rosa,  like  a  good 
wife,  readily  seconded  her  husband  when 
she  found  it  was  his  pleasure  to  entertain 
us  handsomely.  She  took  some  pains  to 
excuse  herself  for  objecting  at  first  to  receive 
us  by  recounting  some  of  the  numerous 
instances  in  which  their  patriotism  and 
hospitality  had  been  wantonly  abused.  I 
was  so  agreeably  entertained  that  I  pre 
ferred  a  social  breakfast  with  my  kind  host 
to  the  formality  of  the  Liberator's  table, 
having  regarded  his  genial  invitation  as  a 
compliment  of  which  I  might  avail  myself 
as  best  suited  my  convenience  and  pleasure, 
and  it  mortified  me  deeply  to  learn  after 
ward  that  he  had  waited  breakfast  for  some 
time  in  consequence  of  my  absence. 

At  eleven  o' clock  I  called  at  his  quarters 
in  company  with  General  Miller,  an  English 
man  whose  gentleness  of  character  and 
chivalric  gallantry  won  for  him  the  esteem 
and  admiration  of  all  that  knew  him.  The 
Liberator  met  us  at  the  door,  said  something 
to  me  about  my  not  breakfasting  with  him, 
and  led  me  into  his  audience  room,  where  he 
bade  us  be  seated.  He  took  the  General 


66  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

gravely  to  task  for  not  having  joined  his 
division  of  the  army,  which  was  far  i;i 
advance,  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  his  doin* 
so  with  the  greatest  possible  despatch,  and 
for  some  minutes  held  forth  to  him  in  a 
strain  of  eloquence  partaking  in  a  remark 
able  degree  of  a  mixture  of  reproof  and  ex 
hortation,  but  with  a  delicacy  which  the  high 
character  and  sensitive  honour  of  the  Gen 
eral  commanded  from  everybody,  not  even 
excepting  the  Commander-in-chief. 

When  General  Miller  had  retired,  the 
Liberator  entered  into  conversation  with 
me  respecting  the  complaint  that  had  been 
made  against  the  Peruvian  Admiral.  He 
disapproved  of  the  Admiral's  conduct,  said 
he  had  disobeyed  his  instructions,  that  he 
would  send  new  instructions  by  me,  and 
that  if  the  Admiral  did  not  conform  to  them 
and  observe  the  maritime  law  of  nations  he 
would  have  him  brought  to  punishment. 
He  spoke  in  terms  of  the  highest  commen 
dation  of  the  forbearance  and  moderation 
that  had  characterized  the  course  pursued  by 
Commodore  Hull,  concluding  with  the 
remark  that  nothing  less  was  to  have  been 
expected  from  an  officer  who  had  already 
acquired  so  much  glory  for  his  country. 

I  rose  to  take  my  leave,  but  he  detained 


IN   THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  67 

me,  saying  that  dinner  would  soon  be  ready. 
He  made  a  digression  from  the  Peruvian 
Admiral  to  the  political  state  of  Europe  as 
affecting  the  new  republics  of  America.  It 
will  be  remembered,  perhaps,  that  a  short 
time  previous  to  this  period  many  people 
in  this  country  as  well  as  in  England  believed 
that  France  and  Russia  would  unite  with 
Spain  to  bring  her  American  subjects  back 
to  their  allegiance.  General  Bolivar  alluded 
to  it  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  but  said 
he  had  the  assurance  both  from  France  and 
Russia  that  they  would  not  interfere  with 
the  independence  of  South  America.  He 
spoke  of  the  sacrifice  and  suffering  of  Colom 
bia  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  adverting  inci 
dentally  to  the  generous  sympathy  she  had 
always  received  from  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  very  natural,  he  said,  that 
we  should  wish  success  to  the  new  States  of 
America,  having  ourselves  passed  through 
the  same  struggle;  and  he  added  that  their 
cause  was  the  cause  of  freedom  in  all  parts 
of  the  world.  France  and  Russia,  he  said, 
would  not  be  permitted  to  take  part  against 
South  America  without  the  intervention  of 
England  and  the  United  States,  of  which  they 
were  not  ignorant,  and  besides  that,  they 
were  too  well  aware  of  the  consequence  of 


68  LIFE   OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

exposing  their  subjects  to  the  corrupting  exam 
ple  of  a  free  people  fighting  against  tyrants 
for  their  liberty.  France,  he  said,  had  not 
forgotten  their  own  Revolution  which,  if 
not  occasioned,  was  at  least  hastened  by 
the  influence  of  the  liberal  principles  that 
the  troops,  sent  to  aid  the  people  of  the; 
United  States  in  their  Revolution,  had 
imbibed  by  their  intercourse  with  them. 
In  this  manner  he  continued  to  talk  rapidly 
with  scarcely  any  intermission,  his  eyes  cast 
down.  I  sat  in  silence  and  listened  to  him, 
as  may  be  supposed,  with  intense  interest. 
I  no  longer  felt  the  least  restraint  in  his 
presence.  His  manner  was  calculated  to 
remove  every  impression  of  the  kind,  for 
although  I  was  but  an  humble  individual 
at  his  side  and  he  the  most  remarkable  man 
of  the  age,  our  condition  and  our  relation 
to  each  other  was  evidently  mutually  under 
stood  and  duly  appreciated. 

At  half-past  four  dinner  was  announced. 
A  large  number  of  officers  were  assembled 
in  the  hall.  They  saluted  as  he  made  his 
appearance,  and,  placing  me  at  his  right 
hand  and  my  companion  at  his  left,  the 
company  was  seated  round  the  table  fur 
nished  in  the  plainest  possible  manner.  Dur 
ing  the  whole  morning  his  countenance  had 


SIMON  BOLIVAR 

The  Liberator 

From  an  engraving  by  W.  Hull  after  M.  N.  Bate,  Lenox  Library 
New  York 


IN   THE   MIDST  OF   THE   ANDES  69 

been  grave  and  thoughtful,  even  to  deep  and 
settled  melancholy,  but  from  the  moment 
he  took  the  head  of  his  table,  surrounded 
by  the  officers  of  his  army,  the  whole  man 
appeared  to  undergo  an  entire  change.  The 
settled  gloom  passed  from  his  careworn 
features,  his  eyes  sparkled  with  animation, 
and  with  a  flow  of  eloquent  raillery  or  good- 
natured  sarcasm,  addressing  himself  from 
one  to  another  of  his  guests,  he  threw  such  a 
charm  round  the  social  board  that  all  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  him  with  gratification  and 
delight. 

To  the  veteran  Colonel  Sands,  an  Irish 
man  whose  long  career  of  useful  service  in 
Colombia  gave  him  a  high  place  in  the 
Liberator's  esteem  and  who  arrived  on  the 
preceding  day  at  the  head  of  a  regiment 
called  the  "  Rifles, "  he  spoke  of  their  former 
campaigns,  asking  whether  on  the  plains  of 
Houca  (where  in  a  few  days  the  Spaniards 
were  expected  to  have  been  met)  his  gallant 
regiment  could  maintain  the  glory  they  had 
acquired  hi  so  many  hard-fought  battles. 
The  Colonel,  as  remarkable  for  his  diffidence 
as  he  was  for  his  intrepidity,  blushed  deeply 
as  he  replied  hi  the  affirmative.  The  Liber 
ator,  then  addressing  the  company,  related 
a  number  of  brilliant  achievements  per- 


70  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

formed  by  the  regiment  and  of  individuals 
belonging  to  it.  From  Colonel  Sands  and 
the  "  Rifles,"  with  a  grace  peculiar  to  himself, 
he  turned  the  eulogium  upon  other  regi 
ments  and  divisions  of  the  Colombian  Army, 
in  all  of  which  some  of  the  officers  present 
had  acquired  a  reputation.  He  said  that 
history,  whether  ancient  or  modern,  could 
not  furnish  brighter  examples  of  patriotic 
devotion  or  individual  heroism  than  were 
recorded  in  the  history  of  the  revolution  of 
Colombia.  In  confirmation  he  went  on  to 
recount  with  minuteness  and  perspicuity 
the  brilliant  achievements  of  some  of  the; 
martyrs  to  liberty  with  whom  he  had  been 
personally  acquainted,  or  whose  efforts  were 
in  unison  with  his  own  in  the  great  struggle 
for  emancipation. 

It  surprised  me  not  a  little  to  hear  the 
comparisons  he  made  in  passing  from 
Colombia  to  Peru.  He  condemned  the 
people  of  Peru  in  general  terms,  said  they 
were  cowards  and  as  a  people  did  not  possess 
a  single  manly  virtue.  I  thought,  though 
his  remarks  were  just,  they  were  both 
impolitic  and  ill  timed,  and  calculated  to 
injure  him  seriously  in  the  estimation  of  the 
people  of  that  country,  whilst  it  could  not 
possibly  answer  any  useful  purpose.  I  was 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  71 

informed  that  he  was  accustomed  to  speak 
in  the  same  terms  of  the  Peruvians  on  all 
occasions,  and  to  this  I  believe  it  may  be 
reasonably  ascribed  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Peru  did  not  evince  more  gratitude  toward 
the  Colombians  for  their  fraternal  assistance 
in  driving  the  Spaniards  from  their  country. 

The  dinner  was  served  after  the  Spanish 
custom  of  placing  it  on  the  table  hi  different 
courses,  as  many  as  seven  or  eight  of  which 
came  in  succession.  The  Liberator  ate  very 
heartily,  and  I  think  must  have  had  his 
plate  changed  a  dozen  times  in  making 
his  dinner.  He  drank  freely  of  wine  and 
encouraged  his  guests  to  do  so.  He  gave 
out  a  number  of  toasts,  several  of  which 
were  drunk  with  acclamation.  Amongst 
those  in  compliment  to  my  country  was  the 
memory  of  Washington,  drunk  standing. 

Calling  on  me  for  a  toast,  I  gave  "  Success 
to  the  liberating  army  of  Peru  and  the 
Washington  of  the  south,  may  glory  attend 
them."  In  the  course  of  the  repast  he 
turned  to  me,  saying,  "My  enemies  abuse 
me  very  much  and  amongst  other  falsehoods 
they  have  told  of  me  they  say  I  use  gold 
knives."  Holding  toward  me  the  knife  he 
was  using  at  the  time,  which  was  of  a 
very  ordinary  kind,  much  worn,  he  said, 


72  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

smiling,  "Does  that  look  like  gold?  They 
say  I  wish  to  establish  an  empire  in  Peru, 
or,  uniting  Peru  to  Colombia,  establish  an 
absolute  government  and  place  myself  at 
the  head  of  it.  It  is  all  false/'  said  he; 
"they  do  me  great  injustice.  If  I  know 
my  own  heart/7  putting  his  right  hand  upon 
his  left  breast,  "I  would  rather  walk  in  the 
footsteps  of  Washington  and  die  the  death 
of  Washington  than  to  be  the  monarch  of 
the  whole  earth,  and  this  is  known  to  all 
who  know  me  well." 

I  trust  I  may  be  excused  for  the  digression 
if  I  here  remark  that  I  believed  at  the  time 
that  General  Bolivar  was  sincere  and  that 
nothing  which  transpired  subsequently  ever 
changed  my  opinion  of  his  being  friendly 
to  a  liberal  Government. 

In  the  course  of  the  repast  some  allusion 
was  made  to  the  Spanish  Army  in  upper 
Peru,  when  the  Liberator,  embracing  every 
opportunity  of  inspiring  confidence  in  his 
officers,  spoke  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  sever 
est  terms  of  scorn  and  contempt,  intimating 
in  the  course  of  his  remarks  that  one  Colom 
bian  was  equal  to  two  or  three  Spaniards  on 
the  field  of  battle.  It  was  said  by  one  of 
his  aides  that  he  remained  longer  at  table  on 
this  occasion  than  was  customary  with  him. 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  73 

From  the  time  he  sat  down  at  the  table  his 
animation  and  exciting  discourse  continued 
with  all  the  energy  with  which  it  commenced, 
and,  the  evening  being  well  advanced,  he 
became  grave  and  silent,  rose  from  his  chair, 
and  the  officers  retired.  In  taking  our  leave 
he  told  Mr.  H.  and  myself  not  to  be  absent 
again  at  breakfast,  and  bade  us  good-night. 
On  the  following  morning  I  presented 
myself  hi  the  court  and  was  met  by  the 
Liberator  at  the  door,  who  took  me  by  the 
hand,  saying  he  was  glad  to  find  me  more 
punctual  than  I  had  been  on  the  preceding 
day.  He  complained  of  being  ill,  and  at 
breakfast  said  but  little,  though  marked  in 
his  attention  and  courtesy  to  the  officers  at 
his  table.  He  did  not  appear  at  dinner. 
The  officers  of  his  household  sat  but  a  short 
tune  after  the  cloth  was  removed.  I  passed 
the  evening  with  General  Miller  and  Gen 
eral  Nicocher,  a  Buenos  Ayrean  by  birth, 
and  commanding  the  cavalry.  In  company 
with  them  I  called  on  General  O'Higgins, 
Ex-president  of  Chile  and  nominally  com 
manding  a  division  of  the  combined  Army. 
A  map  of  the  country  was  displayed  before 
them  and  the  plan  of  operations  discussed, 
all  of  which  I  understood  but  little,  and  if  I 
had,  it  would  be  irrelevant  here. 


74  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

On  the  following  morning,  June  13th,  I 
went  again  to  breakfast  with  the  Liberator, 
He  rose  from  his  seat  when  he  saw  me  enter 
the  court  and  advanced  to  receive  me.  He 
took  my  hands,  said  he  was  better,  and 
invited  me  to  be  seated  in  his  audience 
room.  At  one  end  of  the  room  there  was  a 
small  chapel  with  tapers  burning,  such  as  is 
often  seen  in  Catholic  gentlemen's  houses. 
Pointing  to  it  he  said,  "You  do  not  go  to 
mass  I  suppose."  I  replied  that  although 
no  Catholic,  I  sometimes  went  to  mass  when 
in  a  Catholic  country.  :'  What  is  your  relig 
ion?"  said  he.  I  replied,  "The  Protestant.  ' 
"Now,"  he  observed,  "religion  depends  a 
good  deal  on  fashion."  I  asked  if  the 
Protestant  religions  were  tolerated  in  Colom 
bia.  "When  the  constitution  of  Colombia 
was  framed,"  said  he,  "knowing  that  toler 
ation  of  other  than  the  Catholic  religion 
would  not  be  received,  I  took  care  that 
nothing  should  be  said  about  religion,  so 
that  as  there  was  no  clause  prescribing  the 
manner  of  worship,  strangers  worship  as 
they  please." 

Three  priests  came  in  richly  dressed  and 
were  politely  received  by  the  Liberator,  with 
whom  they  sat  and  conversed  for  some  time. 
When  they  retired  he  saw  them  to  the  door, 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  75 

and,  turning  from  them  toward  his  seat,  he 
remarked,  "Esos  moncas  son  ton  feo  como 
diablos."  I  asked  whether  the  priests  were 
generally  favorable  to  the  revolution.  He 
replied  that  those  were  friendly  to  it  who 
were  born  in  the  country,  but  that  all  the 
Spanish  priests  were  opposed  to  it.  Although 
their  power  was  much  lessened  and  was  daily 
decreasing,  they  had  still,  he  said,  a  great 
deal  of  influence.  "No  old  Spaniard," 
said  he,  "is  friendly  to  the  revolution. 
They  will  pretend  to  favor  the  cause  of  the 
Patriots  whilst  we  have  them  in  our  power, 
but  the  moment  they  can  aid  the  Royalists 
they  will  do  so.  Their  customs,  their  man 
ners,  their  sentiments,  their  principles,  and 
even  their  colour  are  all  bad.  They  come 
here  bringing  with  them  a  combination  of 
all  the  vices  of  our  nature.  They  have 
corrupted  the  people  of  the  country.  They 
have  mixed  with  negroes  and  Indians  and 
devils  and  have  formed  the  most  accursed 
race  that  ever  lived.  This  country,"  said 
he,  "can  never  prosper  for  a  hundred  years 
to  come.  Two  generations  must  pass  away 
first.  The  people  of  Europe  and  North 
America  must  be  encouraged  to  settle  here, 
bringing  with  them  their  commerce,  their 
arts  and  sciences.  These  advantages,  an 


76  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

independent  Government,  free  schools   anc 
intermarriages  with    Europeans    and  Nortl 
Americans   would   change,"   he   said,    "the 
whole   character   of   the   people   and   make; 
them  intelligent  and  prosperous. " 

I  was  unacquainted  with  the  constitution 
of  Colombia,  and  in  the  course  of  this  morn 
ing's  conversation  asked  him  if  it  were 
similar  to  that  of  the  United  States.  He 
replied  that  it  differed  materially  from  tha: 
of  the  United  States.  "  Your  Government," 
said  he,  "can  not  last.  The  Executive  has 
not  power  enough.  The  States  have  too 
much.  Dissension  and  disunion  will  be  the 
ultimate  consequence.  It  is  much  to  be 
regretted.  With  a  stronger  Government 
your  country  would  be  the  most  powerful 
in  the  world  in  fifty  years.  Your  commerce 
must  be  extensive,  your  countrymen  are 
brave  and  enterprising,  you  have  fine  har 
bours,  and  an  abundance  of  timber  and  iron, 
and  the  time  must  come  when  you  will 
drive  England  from  the  ocean.  All  Europe, 
imbibing  the  principles  of  America,  will 
become  free,  and  the  civilized  world  in  less 
than  a  hundred  years  will  be  governed  by 
philosophy.  There  will  no  longer  be  kings. 
The  people  will  find  out  their  power  and  the 
advantages  of  liberty." 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  77 

I  said  to  him,  "  There  is  no  one  of  my 
countrymen  who  does  not  feel  a  lively 
interest  in  the  events  of  your  life.  Permit 
me  to  ask  what  first  induced  you  to  attempt 
the  revolution  of  Colombia."  "From  my 
childhood/'  he  replied,  "I  thought  of  noth 
ing  else.  I  was  charmed  with  the  histories 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  The  Revolution  of 
the  United  States  was  of  more  recent  date. 
It  furnished  an  example.  The  character 
of  Washington  filled  my  heart  with  emula 
tion.  The  Spaniards  who  filled  all  the 
offices  in  Colombia  were  tyrants  and  brutes. 
In  18 —  myself  and  two  companions  (whose 
names  he  mentioned)  went  to  France.  We 
were  there  when  Bonaparte  was  crowned. 
All  Paris  was  rejoicing.  We  did  not  leave 
our  room,  but  even  closed  the  shutters  of  our 
windows.  From  France  we  went  to  Spain 
and  from  there  to  Rome.  At  Rome  we 
ascended  the  Tarpeian  rock  and  there  we 
three  knelt  and,  embracing  each  other,  swore 
to  liberate  our  country  or  die  in  the  attempt. 
One  of  them  came  with  me  and  fell  on  the 
field  of  battle.  The  other  never  returned 
and  I  know  not  what  became  of  him." 

He  said  that  he  was  three  times  driven 
from  Colombia  after  the  friends  he  had 
assembled  were  dispersed  or  destroyed,  but 


78  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

that  his  friends  united  with  him  at  each 
tune  that  he  returned  and  they  finally 
triumphed.  He  described  the  character  of 
the  Spanish  chiefs  who  commanded  at 
different  periods  in  Colombia.  They  were 
all  cruel,  but  Bobes  was  the  worst  of  them. 
He  was  worse  than  a  tiger.  Wherever  he 
captured  a  place  that  had  revolted  he  put 
to  the  sword  men,  women,  and  children 
without  discrimination.  "No  civilized 
man,"  he  said,  " could  conceive  the  brutal 
ity  of  these  Spanish  chiefs.  In  the  wars  of 
Colombia  they  murdered  at  least  five  hun 
dred  thousand  people." 

In  ordinary  conversation  the  expression 
of  his  face  was  grave  even  to  melancholy 
and  his  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  floor,  but 
when  the  subject  became  interesting  he 
looked  one  full  in  the  face,  his  features 
became  full  of  animation,  and  a  soul  glowing 
with  passion  seemed  to  beam  from  his  eye. 

Breakfast  was  announced  at  eleven 
o'clock,  much  to  my  regret.  When  we  rose 
from  the  table  I  took  leave  of  the  Liberator, 
his  secretary  furnished  me  with  the  reply  to 
my  Commander's  communications,  and  His 
Excellency  having  caused  five  good  mules 
to  be  placed  at  my  disposal  and  given  me  a 
passport  in  almost  as  strong  terms  as  the 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  79 

one  I  received  from  the  Governor  of  Huacho, 
I  took  my  departure  after  exchanging  a 
kind  farewell  with  Don  Emanuel  and  the 
gallant  officers  of  the  Army  with  whom  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  having  formed  an 
acquaintance. 

Unwilling  to  retrace  my  steps  over  the 
mountains  and  sands  by  which  I  had  trav 
elled  from  Huacho  to  Huaraz,  I  gladly 
embraced  the  advice  I  received  to  return  to 
the  coast  at  Truxillo,  though  the  distance 
was  much  greater.  Having  lost  my  notes 
relating  to  that  part  of  my  journey  from 
Huaraz  to  the  seacoast,  and  my  memory 
failing  in  most  of  the  particulars  that  might 
be  supposed  interesting  to  the  reader,  I 
cannot  describe  the  mountains  and  deserts, 
the  rude  Indian  villages  or  fair  valleys  that 
we  saw. 

In  five  or  six  days,  having,  after  passing 
the  mountains,  exchanged  our  mules  for 
horses,  we  reached  the  seacoast  at  Santa. 
Here  the  Governor,  who  was  poor  and  an 
ignorant  creature,  sent  us  to  the  house  of 
Alcalde  Pizaro,  a  mulatto.  We  passed 
the  night  in  his  house  and  on  the  following 
morning  called  repeatedly  upon  the  Gov 
ernor,  urging  him  to  have  our  horses  brought 
up  for  us,  and  although  he  promised  at  each 


80  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

time  that  we  should  have  them  immedi 
ately,  he  paid  not  the  least  attention  to  our 
earnest  solicitations,  and  finally  absconded 
from  his  house.  It  was  some  hours  aft  or 
the  sun  had  passed  the  meridian  when, 
having  sought  him  in  vain  through  the 
town,  my  companion  accidentally  met  wilh 
him  in  the  public  square.  When  the  Gov 
ernor  saw  Mr.  H.,  he  attempted  to  avo  d 
him  by  flight,  but,  being  overtaken,  Mr.  H. 
bestowed  his  horsewhip  so  freely  upon  him 
that  he  promised  the  horses  should  be  imm3- 
diately  furnished.  Mr.  H.  threatened  him 
with  severer  punishment  if  he  did  not  keep 
his  promise,  and  accordingly  the  Governor, 
moved  by  apprehension  for  his  personal 
safety,  had  the  horses  brought  up  for  us. 

Toward  evening  we  crossed  the  Santa 
River,  a  wide  and  rapid  stream  which  at  this 
hour  of  the  day  it  was  difficult  and  danger 
ous  to  cross,  being  imbedded  with  large 
rocks  and  deep  from  the  melting  of  the  snows 
of  the  Andes  through  the  day.  A  few  miles 
beyond  it  we  refreshed  ourselves  at  the 
hacienda  of  Guadalupe,  where  we  were  re 
ceived  with  kindness  by  the  occupant,  and 
toward  midnight  set  out  for  Piesara,  a 
small  valley  at  the  distance  of  seventy  miles 
and  all  the  intervening  distance  an  unin- 


IN  THE   MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  81 

habitable  desert.  Fetlock  deep  we  goaded 
our  steeds  over  the  widely  extended  waste 
of  sand,  where  no  trace  of  a  former  traveller 
was  to  be  seen,  and  where  the  breeze  that 
gently  swept  along  from  the  sea  to  the 
interior  left  not  a  track  of  footstep  behind 
us.  Our  guide  was  to  us  what  the  compass 
is  to  the  mariner.  He  led  the  way,  and 
true  as  the  seaman's  faith  in  the  unchanging 
magnet,  we  followed  the  course  he  directed. 
Noon  of  the  following  day  found  us  thread 
ing  the  intervals  through  devious  windings  of 
bright  and  burning  sand  drifts  from  which 
we  were  joyfully  emerging  into  a  damp  and 
marshy  valley  overgrown  thickly  with  reed 
and  the  Algaroba  and  stretching  from  the 
sea  to  the  rocky  and  desolate  mountains  of 
the  interior.  At  first  we  continued  along 
in  confidence,  turning  to  the  right  or  the 
left  as  obstacles  were  presented,  sometimes 
retracing  our  steps  and  advancing  where  the 
way  appeared  more  open  until  it  was  evident 
that  our  suspicions  were  but  too  well  con 
firmed  that  the  guide  was  bewildered  if 
not  lost.  The  valley  was  about  a  mile 
across  and  we  could  penetrate  to  within 
one  hundred  yards  of  the  side  opposite  to 
that  by  which  we  had  advanced,  but  there 
we  found  that,  whatever  way  we  approached 


82  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

it,  a  thick  growth  defied  all  our  efforts 
to  pass.  The  guide,  unwilling  to  acknowl 
edge  his  misfortune,  made  repeated  excuses 
until  they  were  lost  in  improbability  and 
we  openly  accused  him  of  deception,  enter 
ing  at  the  same  time  some  suspicion  of  his 
having  led  us  into  an  ambush.  We  were  now 
fifty  miles  from  Santa,  and  twenty  from  tie 
place  where  we  should  have  arrived  ere  this 
time  if  conducted  faithfully  on  the  way. 

We  had  yet  an  hour's  sun  when  the  guide 
confessed  that  he  had  no  longer  any  hope  of 
finding  the  road  by  which  we  could  be 
extricated  from  our  present  difficulty,  but 
that  if  it  were  possible  to  make  our  way 
through  the  narrow  overgrown  strip  that 
separated  us  from  the  opposite  desert  he 
could  find  his  way.  Without  food  or  water 
since  our  departure  from  Guadalupe,  and 
our  horses  much  jaded,  it  seemed  but  a 
desperate  alternative  to  retrace  our  steps 
over  the  deep  sands  for  fifty  miles.  We 
concluded  to  make  the  effort  of  cutting  our 
way  through,  and  with  a  jack  knife  and  a 
heavy  sabre  laboured  hard  to  accomplish 
it  before  dark.  With  tattered  clothes,  and 
hands  and  faces  streaming  with  blood,  we 
so  far  succeeded  that  by  taking  everything 
from  the  horses  we  were  enabled  to  lead  them 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  THE  ANDES  83 

through  and  entered  upon  the  sands  just  in 
the  dusk  of  the  evening.  In  high  spirits, 
rejoicing  in  our  success,  we  mounted  and 
bade  the  guide  lead  the  way.  With  an 
assumed  confidence,  by  which  we  were  at 
first  deceived,  he  conducted  us  for  an  hour 
or  two  in  winding  mazes  through  the  sand, 
and  not  until  our  impatience  with  his  igno 
rance  and  obstinacy  was  raised  to  the  highest 
pitch  did  he  exclaim  "Estoy  perdido!" 

Though  a  sentiment  of  despair  came  over 
us  for  a  moment  as  the  guide  made  the 
distressing  acknowledgment,  it  was  never 
theless  a  relief  from  the  painful  suspense 
we  had  been  kept  in  for  so  long  a  tune.  No 
choice  was  now  left  to  us.  We  returned  to 
the  edge  of  the  thicket,  where,  tying  our 
horses  to  the  branches  of  the  Algaroba,  we 
threw  ourselves  upon  the  sand  and  slept 
until  morning.  I  will  not  dwell  minutely 
upon  this  most  unpleasant  of  all  journeys. 
We  retraced  our  steps  to  Guadalupe,  and 
arrived  there  on  the  following  evening,  our 
horses  and  ourselves  completely  broken 
down.  On  the  road  I  had  the  good  fortune 
to  find  a  small  lime,  and  such  was  the  excess 
of  our  sufferings  that  my  gratification  was 
unbounded.  It  was  a  week  before  we  were 
well  enough  to  renew  the  attempt  to  pass 


84  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

over  this  extensive  desert.  A  new  guide 
was  more  successful  and  in  three  days  we 
arrived  safely  at  Truxillo. 

The  writing  of  this  narrative  having  been 
suggested  alone  by  a  wish  to  develop  some 
thing  of  the  character  of  General  Bolivar,  I 
have  passed  over  the  incidents  subsequent 
to  my  departure  from  his  headquarters 
with  a  brevity  due  to  the  reader's  patience 
after  following  the  narrative  so  far  over  a 
country  which,  though  filled  with  nove'ty 
and  striking  characteristics  to  the  traveller, 
is  yet  wanting  in  the  pervading  interest  that 
is  calculated  to  amuse  the  curious  or  idle 
reader  in  a  distant  clime.  Such  as  it  is, 
the  narrator  commends  it  to  an  indulgent 
perusal,  and  whilst  he  claims  no  credit  what 
ever  for  its  production,  he  hopes  it  may 
pass  without  censure." 


CHAPTER  VI 

VARIOUS   SERVICES 

FROM  1830  to  1844,  though  constantly 
employed  at  sea,  Paulding's  life  was  com 
paratively  uneventful.  For  two  years  he 
served  in  the  Mediterranean  as  first  lieu 
tenant  of  the  frigate  Constitution,  and  in 
the  same  waters  commanded  the  schooner 
Shark,  of  twelve  guns,  from  1834  to  1837. 

In  February  of  1837  he  reached  the  rank 
of  commander  and  commanded  the  sloop 
of  war  Levant,  making  a  cruise  in  the  West 
Indies.  In  1841,  for  the  first  time  in  thirty 
years'  service,  he  was  given  shore  duty  as 
executive  officer  of  the  New  York  Navy 
Yard  under  Commodore  James  Renshaw. 
In  1844  he  was  promoted  captain  and,  in 
command  of  the  sloop  of  war  Vincennes, 
twenty  guns,  was  sent  to  the  East  Indies  in 
the  squadron  of  Commodore  James  Biddle, 
U.  S.  frigate  Columbus.  This  cruise,  although 
full  of  interest  in  his  visits  to  the  then  little 
known  ports  of  China,  was  replete  with 
85 


86  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

anxiety   and   was   the  most   dismal   of  his 
life. 

As  condensed  water  was  not  known  in 
those  days,  at  times  much  risk  was  involved 
in  taking  water  for  the  ship's  use,  and  from 
a  supply  of  impure  water,  taken  on  the  co*ist 
of  China,  dysentery  broke  out  among  the 
crew,  and  a  large  number  of  the  ship's 
company  succumbed  to  the  disease.  Spared 
himself,  Paulding's  humane  and  genercus 
heart  was  a  constant  prey  to  the  keenest 
emotions  witnessing  the  agonies  he  was 
powerless  to  relieve.  He  also  was  attacked 
by  ophthalmia  and  was  in  danger  of  quite 
losing  his  sight.  Owing  to  the  return  of 
Commodore  Biddle  to  the  United  Stales 
on  the  frigate  Columbus,  Paulding  was 
left  in  command  of  the  Asiatic  station,  a 
duty  he  performed  as  he  had  ever  performed 
all  his  duties,  with  zeal,  discretion,  and 
entire  devotion  to  his  country's  interest. 
At  that  time  the  ports  of  Japan  were  closed 
to  the  commerce  of  other  nations  and  the 
natives  looked  askance  at  a  boat  from  the 
Vincennes  when  an  attempt  was  made  to 
open  communication  with  them.  One  boat 
man  was  with  difficulty  persuaded  to  sell  his 
hat,  a  curious  affair  of  bamboo  and  leaves,, 
which  was  long  regarded  as  a  rare  curiosity. 


fa     0) 

OH       fi 

o  3 
II 


-8 
II 

II 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  87 

At  the  end  of  the  cruise  Paulding  brought 
his  ship  home. 

\Yhat  a  change  has  been  wrought  in  sixty 
years!  As  the  cable  and  fast  and  regular 
lines  of  mail  steamers  keep  us  in  daily  touch 
with  the  Orient,  it  is  difficult  nowadays  to 
realize  the  hardships  of  life  on  a  sailing 
vessel  sixty  years  ago,  when  mails  were 
delayed  for  months,  and  when  Jack's  ration 
of  salt  meat  and  hardtack  was  not  modified 
by  the  various  canned  and  dessicated  foods 
now  so  common. 

Much  worn  with  the  many  anxieties  and 
hardships  he  had  endured,  the  Captain  of 
the  Vincennes  landed  from  his  boat  at  the 
quarantine,  Staten  Island,  his  heart  the  prey 
of  the  keenest  anxiety.  Many  months  had 
elapsed  since  the  receipt  of  letters  from 
home,  and  brave  as  he  was  hi  the  face  of 
danger,  he  said  the  walk  from  the  landing  to 
the  house  of  a  friend,  where  he  knew  he 
should  have  tidings  of  his  family,  seemed 
interminable  and  he  had  to  pass  and  repass 
the  house  several  times  before  he  dared 
knock  at  the  door  and  ask  for  news.  Hap 
pily  all  was  well,  and  later  on  the  letters  that 
would  have  assured  him  of  it  came  back 
from  various  ports. 

Journals  and  letters  written  at  this  time, 


88  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

full  of  interest,  were  burned  when  the  home 
at  Huntington  was  destroyed  by  fire.  A 
well  earned  rest  at  home  on  his  "Peach 
Blossom"  farm  with  the  devoted  wife  anc 
children  scon  restored  his  health  and  spirits, 
and  in  August,  1848,  he  was  ordered  to 
command  the  frigate  St.  Lawrence,  carrying 
480  men.  The  subjoined  order  indicates 
what  the  special  service  was  to  be. 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  August  26th,   1848. 

Sir:  So  soon  as  the  United  States  frigate  St.  Law 
rence,  under  your  command,  is,  in  all  respects,  ready 
for  sea,  you  will  proceed  to  the  North  Sea,  touching  ai; 
Southampton  if  necessary  for  refreshment  of  the  crew, 
or  supplies  of  provisions.  I  regret  that  the  season  is 
so  far  advanced  that  it  is  not  probable  that  it  will  bo 
practicable  for  you  to  enter  the  Baltic  Sea  and  render 
any  valuable  service  during  the  present  year  before  the 
navigation  will  be  obstructed  or  closed  by  ice. 

You  will  touch  at  Bremerhaven,  and  communicate 
your  arrival  to  the  American  Minister  at  Berlin.  You 
will  extend  your  cruise  as  much  farther  north  as  in 
your  judgment  the  public  interests  may  require  and  tho 
state  of  the  navigation  may  permit.  If  there  is  a  state 
of  war  it  will  be  your  duty  to  give  due  protection  to 
American  citizens  and  their  property,  and  to  this  end 
you  will  visit  any  commercial  points  of  importance 
which  may  be  blockaded.  In  your  intercourse  with 
the  belligerents  you  will  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  the 
policy  of  the  United  States  to  observe  a  strict  neu 
trality  in  regard  to  nations  at  war  which  are  in  amity 
with  us. 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  89 

As  the  season  advances  you  will  proceed  to  the  south 
of  Europe  and  touch  at  such  points  between  Cape 
Finisterre  and  Cadiz  at  which,  in  your  judgment,  your 
presence  may  be  most  advantageous  to  the  interests  of 
American  commerce. 

At  Lisbon  you  will  communicate  with  the  Charge 
d'affaires  to  Portugal,  and,  informing  him  of  your 
instructions,  receive  from  him  suggestions  as  to  the 
length  of  tune  you  will  remain  in  the  Tagus.  When 
the  spring  opens,  you  will  return  to  the  north  and  pro 
ceed  as  far  as  Cronstadt. 

You  will  consider  yourself  on  detached  special  service 
until  further  orders  from  the  department. 

When  at  Bremen,  if  the  kingdom  of  Prussia  is  not 
engaged  in  war,  you  will  receive  on  board  and  put  to 
duty,  as  midshipmen,  four  young  Prussian  officers,  who 
may  be  detailed  for  that  purpose.  You  will  inform 
Mr.  Donelson  of  this  part  of  your  instructions,  and 
through  him  the  officers  will  be  named  to  you.  His 
excellency  the  Prussian  Minister  at  Washington  has 
requested  that  this  privilege  may  be  extended,  and  it 
is  cheerfully  accorded,  if  not  inconsistent  with  our 
neutrality,  as  well  in  acknowledgment  of  the  distin 
guished  compliment  which  it  implies  to  our  Navy, 
as  in  our  sincere  desire  to  see  the  efforts  of  Prussia 
to  make  an  effective  naval  establishment  crowned 
with  success. 

You  will  be  pleased  to  inform  the  department  of  the 
events  of  your  cruise  as  often  as  practicable,  and 
your  communications  should  be  regularly  numbered, 
and  duplicates  forwarded  by  the  earliest  opportunities, 
to  be  found  after  the  originals  shall  have  been  trans 
mitted. 

With  best  wishes  for  a  pleasant  cruise,  and  for  the 


90  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

good  health  of  yourself,  officers,  and  crew,  and  a  safe- 
return  to  your  country  and  friends,  I  am, 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
J.  Y.  MASON, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

CAPTAIN  HIRAM  PAULDING, 

Commanding  United  States  Frigate 
St.  Lawrence,  Norfolk. 

This  diplomatic  cruise  was  probably  tho 
most  interesting  of  his  life.  At  this  time  all 
Europe  was  more  or  less  in  commotion. 
The  French  Revolution  and  the  events  of 
1798  had  stirred  political  feeling  to  the  depths. 
Where  France  had  led,  Italy  and  Austria, 
with  all  the  nationalities  involved,  must  fol 
low.  The  map  of  Europe  was  changing. 
No  American  man-of-war  had  been  seen 
in  the  North  Sea.  No  social  or  politi 
cal  intercourse  had  been  attempted  with 
Great  Britain,  and  at  this  juncture  it  was 
important  that  a  man  of  discretion  and 
tact  should  command  the  vessel  that  car 
ried  our  flag  to  foreign  ports.  The  man  to 
whom  was  entrusted  the  command  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  was  known  to  Mr.  John  Y. 
Mason.  When,  a  boy  of  scarcely  seventeen, 
a  midshipman  in  service  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  he  was  sent  in  face  of  a  murderous 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  91 

fire  from  the  enemy  to  rescue  a  gunboat 
drifting  helplessly  into  the  enemy's  hands,  he 
succeeded  in  bringing  it  to  a  place  of  safety. 
From  that  time,  whether  overcoming  the 
resistance  of  winds  and  waves  or  in  braving 
and  turning  the  animosities  of  men,  his 
calm  good  sense  prevailed  and  won  for  him 
confidence  and  respect.  The  sailor's  skill, 
courage,  and  resourceful  judgment  were 
equaled  by  his  modesty.  Perhaps  few  men 
would  have  declined  the  honor  offered  him 
when  the  Prussians  desired  him  to  head 
then1  new  Navy.  Although  his  experience 
of  many  years  was  at  their  service,  his  one 
desire  was  to  give  honor  to  his  country's 
flag  and  to  acquit  himself  satisfactorily  as 
an  American  officer. 

Our  Government  was  desirous  of  aiding 
the  Germanic  Confederation  to  establish  a 
Navy,  and  while  at  Bremerhaven  several 
young  Prussians  were  received  on  board 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  be  instructed  in  nau 
tical  science.  Captain  Paulding  was 
invited  by  the  King  of  Prussia  to  visit 
Berlin,  and  he  was  handsomely  entertained 
at  the  Royal  Palace.  Accompanying  Prince 
Adalbert,  the  Admiral  of  Germany,  to 
Frankfort-on-the-Main,  he  was  presented  to 
the  members  of  the  German  Parliament, 


92  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

who  received  him  with  great  enthusiasm 
and  tendered  him  a  high  command  in  tha 
German  service,  which  he  felt  it  incumbent 
upon  him  to  decline. 

It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  Germa:i 
Navy  of  to-day  owes  much  of  its  efficiency 
to  the  ideas  instilled  by  this  America:! 
sailor  into  the  mind  of  Prince  Adalbert,  who 
was  an  intelligent  and  progressive  man.1 

Among  those  Paulding  entertained  aboard 
ship  were  the  municipal  authorities  cf 
Southampton,  the  Duke  of  Oldenburg  at 
Bremerhaven,  the  Senate  of  Bremen,  the 
Queen  of  Greece,  deputations  from  Prussia, 
from  Denmark,  and  from  Sweden. 

After  a  short  stay  at  Southampton,  the 
St.  Lawrence  went  to  Bremerhaven.  On 
the  7th  of  October  a  deputation  from  the 
Senate  of  Bremen  waited  upon  them  to 
express  their  satisfaction  at  the  visit  of  the 
American  man-of-war,  and  the  Amtman, 
or  Chief  Justice,  came  to  welcome  them. 
Bremen  being  four  miles  from  the  coast  and 
the  Weser  not  being  navigable  for  vessels 
of  heavy  draft  like  the  St.  Lawrence,  they 

1Heinrich  Wilhelm  Adalbert,  cousin  german  of  Wil 
liam  I.,  born  in  1811,  entered  the  Army  in  his  youth  and 
became  Lieutenant-General.  In  1848  he  was  made 
Admiral  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  German  Navy. 
Died,  1873. 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  93 

anchored  at  Bremerhaven,  the  St.  Lawrence 
being  the  first  American  man-of-war  to 
visit  them,  and  the  largest  ship  that  had 
ever  come  to  the  anchorage.  Extracts  from 
the  Captain's  journal  give  some  interesting 
data  of  the  visit  to  Germany. 

OCTOBER  7,  1848. 

"The  Duke  of  Oldenburg  sent  me  word  that  he 
desired  to  visit  me,  that  his  steamer  was  at  our  ser 
vice,  and  that  the  officers  and  crew  could  go  in  her  to 
Bremen  without  charge.  At  six  in  the  morning  a 
steamer  came  down,  and  with  as  many  as  a  dozen 
officers  I  left  for  Bremen.  The  American  Vice-consul, 
Mr.  H.  W.  Bohme,  had  ridden  all  night  bringing  with 
him  an  invitation  from  the  Senate  of  Bremen,  which  we 
accepted,  for  us  to  visit  the  city.  Bremen  contains 
60,000  inhabitants.  It  is  one  of  the  independent 
Hanseatic  towns,  and  is  a  flourishing  commercial  city. 
It  is  governed  by  a  Senate  consisting  of  twenty-four 
members  who  were  elected  for  life  until  a  recent  change 
by  revolution.  The  Senate  consists  of  the  most  wealthy 
inhabitants.  There  are  two  classes:  the  senior,  who 
receive  $3000,  Rix  dollars  (about  S2400  Spanish),  and 
who  are  not  allowed  to  engage  in  commerce.  The 
other  class  are  merchants  and  receive  $2000.  A 
committee  waited  on  us,  asking  us  to  fix  a  day  when 
we  would  dine  with  them. 

"That  evening  we  visited  the  famous  cellar  that 
extends  from  under  the  Senate  House  across  the 
street  for  a  considerable  distance  —  one  of  the  casks 
containing  7000  gallons — and  where  the  wines  belonging 
to  the  Senate  have  been  deposited  for  two  hundred  and 


94  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

fifty  years,  the  State  owning  the  vineyards.  After 
dinner  we  took  carriages  and  visited  the  church  of  St. 
Paul,  an  immense  building,  where  among  other  interest 
ing  objects  we  saw  in  a  vault,  or  rather  a  room  level 
with  the  ground,  the  remains  of  a  number  of  persons, 
some  of  whom  have  lain  there  for  two  hundred  years, 
preserved  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner  by  some 
thing  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  place." 

At  a  later  date: 

SENATE  DINNER 

"We  were  soon  at  the  Club-house,  and  greeted  cor 
dially  by  the  Senate  and  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  of 
the  gentlemen  in  Bremen.  After  an  introduction  to 
the  various  personages,  most  of  whom  spoke  English, 
we  were  ushered  into  the  dining-room,  where  a  mag 
nificent  entertainment  had  been  prepared.  Toasts  to 
the  Captain  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Secretary  of  our  Navy  were  all 
drunk  with  many  hearty  cheers,  and  viands  of  the 
choicest  kind  went  round  with  toasts  and  speeches  all 
of  patriotism  and  good  feeling  toward  our  country 
and  for  us.  ... 

"From  the  tune  of  our  arrival  the  ship  has  been 
crowded  with  visitors.  It  was  estimated  that  two 
thousand  visited  the  ship  in  one  day.  .  .  . 

"On  Monday  we  received  the  'Civic  Guard  of 
Bremen/  consisting  of  respectable  people  of  every  class 
and  profession,  who  are  considered  the  safeguard  and 
protectors  of  property  and  the  laws.  They  came  in  a 
steamer  provided  with  a  fine  band,  and  addressed  me 
in  a  long  speech  of  welcome.  I  replied,  and  as  the 
first  gun  of  thirteen  went  off,  their  band  struck  up 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  95 

'Hail,  Columbia! '  It  altogether  had  a  pretty  effect  — 
the  corps  consisting  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  fine  looking 
fellows  in  uniform,  wearing  a  handsome  blue  blouse 
and  round  white  hat  with  a  cockade  of  national  colors 
—  black,  red,  and  gold.  Previous  to  this,  however,  I 
had  received  a  deputation  from  the  central  Govern 
ment  at  Frankfort  —  a  captain  and  major  of  the 
Army  and  some  other  gentlemen,  deputies  to  the 
Confederation  Congress.  They  came  the  evening 
previous  in  a  man-of-war  steamer.  On  board  the 
steamer  were  three  English  captains  in  the  Hamburg 
Navy,  or  rather,  of  ships  fitted  out  by  Hamburg  and 
now  sold  to  the  central  Government.  When  I  had 
obtained  a  central  flag,  for  which  I  had  to  send  to 
Bremerhaven,  the  Committee  came  on  board  in  a  boat 
I  sent  for  them.  I  then  hoisted  the  central  flag  and 
saluted  with  twenty-one  guns.  The  deputation  walked 
round  the  ship  and  partook  of  some  refreshment  and 
took  their  leave.  They  proceeded  to  the  Hanoverian 
Government  at  Bremerhaven  and  there  commanded 
the  commanding  officer  to  hoist  the  central  German 
flag  and  salute  it.  The  King  of  Hanover  has  been 
one  of  the  last  to  submit  to  the  political  change  now 
going  on  in  Germany." 

TUESDAY,  17th. 

"The  Archduke  of  Oldenburg  came  in  a  steamer 
accompanied  by  five  ladies  of  the  court.  We  sent  our 
boats  to  the  steamer  for  them,  and  I  received  the 
Prince,  a  young  man  of  twenty-two,  at  the  gangway. 
He  was  dressed  in  military  uniform,  and,  as  he  landed 
on  the  deck,  asked,  with  a  smile,  in  good  English,  if  I 
would  allow  him  to  see  my  ship.  When  the  party 
were  on  board,  and  they  were  quite  a  numerous  one, 


96  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

as  he  was  attended  by  his  aides  and  others,  we  mann3d 
the  yards  and  saluted  with  twenty-one  guns.  After 
visiting  every  part  of  the  ship  I  took  them  to  the  cab;  n, 
where  they  partook  of  refreshment  and  at  two  or  thi  ee 
o'clock  left  the  ship." 

FRIDAY,  20th. 

" A  gentleman,  Major  Von  Wangenheim,  came 
recommended  by  our  Legation  at  Berlin,  on  the  pjirt 
of  the  Prussian  Government,  to  examine  the  con 
struction,  armament,  materiel,  organization,  etc.,  of  the 
ship.  We  went  round  with  him  through  every  part  of 
the  ship,  exhibited  and  explained  the  watch,  quarter, 
and  station  bills,  etc.,  etc.,  and,  after  remaining  for  an 
hour  or  two,  he  left  us  with  many  thanks  for  courtc  sy 
and  attention. 

"  Six  of  our  midshipmen  went  to  Oldenburg.  Wore 
much  gratified  by  their  kind  reception  by  the  Grand 
Duke,  who  had  sent  for  them.  They  were  entertained 
at  a  ball  and  at  dinner." 

25th  OCTOBER. 

"As  soon  as  my  cold  passed  off,  I  left  for  Berlin  and 
Frankfort,  having  been  invited  by  Mr.  Donelson  to 
visit  him  on  business  —  also  by  "Biilow,"  minister  for 
foreign  affairs  in  Berlin,  to  visit  Frankfort,  where  the 
general  congress  of  Germany  is  now  in  session.  The 
invitation  from  "Bulow"  was  on  the  part  of  Prince 
Adalbert,  who  is  considered  the  patron  of  the  Navy  of 
Germany  (that  is  to  be),  who  pays  me  the  compliment 
to  desire  to  consult  me  about  the  establishment  of  the 
German  Navy.  Our  friend  and  countryman,  Mr. 
Marcus  Dunkeim,  with  an  invaluable  servant,  Augu-ste, 
volunteered  to  accompany  me  at  his  own  expense,  and 
Mr.  Francis  Tecklenborg,  of  Bremen,  speaking  good 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  97 

English,  also  made  up  his  mind  to  be  of  our  company. 
We  remained  over  night  at  Hanover.  I  had  a  card 
from  Mr.  Wieburg,  one  of  the  King's  ministers.  We 
had  leisure,  before  leaving  in  the  morning,  to  walk  about 
the  city  and  see  much  of  interest.  The  King  is  more 
than  eighty  —  broken  by  years  and  infirmity.  We 
arrived  in  the  beautiful  city  of  Berlin  about  eleven, 
took  a  droschke  and  drove  to  the  Hotel  d'Angleterre, 
passing  through  the  Brandenburg  gate,  and  after  a 
quiet  supper  retired  to  excellent  apartments.  In  the 
morning  I  sent  a  card  to  Mr.  Donelson  informing  him 
of  my  arrival,  and  asking  him  when  it  would  be  con 
venient  for  him  to  receive  us.  He  replied,  at  eleven; 
and  we  occupied  the  rest  of  the  day  in  visiting  the  many 
places  of  interest." 

Then  comes  a  long  description  of  the 
sights  of  interest  in  Berlin  —  seeing  galleries 
of  painting,  statuary,  park  and  pleasure 
grounds,  etc. 

"We  dined  with  our  Minister  at  4  P.M.  At  his 
table  we  met  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland,  British 
Minister,  the  Minister  of  France,  of  Saxony,  of  Austria, 
and  Major  Von  WTangenheim,  Under  Secretary  of  War, 
one  of  the  gentlemen  who  had  by  authority  visited  my 
ship.  The  ministers  of  the  King  were  most  of  them 
attending  the  debate  of  the  Assembly,  and  could  not 
be  present  at  the  dinner.  In  the  morning  we  had 
visited  the  Assembly,  in  full  uniform;  cards  of  admission 
had  been  obtained,  but  we  passed  in  without  question. 
Late  in  the  evening  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Donelson 
saying  that  we  were  invited  to  visit  the  King  at  Potsdam 
on  the  following  morning  at  ten,  and  calling  upon  us 


98  LIFE   OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

to  be  at  his  house  in  time  to  take  the  nine  o'clock  trail. 
We  were  punctual  to  the  time,  and,  arriving  at  the 
depot  at  Potsdam,  found  two  royal  carriages  wii,h 
servants  in  livery  in  waiting  for  us,  and  a  footrm  n 
ready  to  conduct  us  to  the  carriages.  We  alighted  ;it 
the  palace  of  "Sans  Souci,"  a  little  out  of  Potsdam,  and 
were  received  by  one  of  the  King's  chamberlains  in  a 
plain  military  uniform.  We  threw  our  cloaks  aside 
and  were  conducted  to  a  small  room  richly  hung  wbh 
choice  paintings. 

"  It  was  nearly  hah7  an  hour  before  His  Majesty  made 
his  appearance,  ushered  in  by  Count  —  — .  I:  is 
chamberlain  bowed  to  us  and  wre  were  presented  to 
His  Majesty  one  by  one,  standing  ranged  in  a  semi 
circle.  He  addressed  a  few  civil  words  to  each  of  us, 
and  then  turned  to  me  a  second  time,  saying,  'I  am 
happy  of  the  pleasure  of  your  acquaintance.'  This 
was  said  after  having  remarked  upon  my  uniform, 
saying  he  liked  it,  that  it  was  a  dress  he  wras  always 
pleased  with,  and  asked  whether  it  was  not  the  old 
English  nayal  uniform. 

"  I  said  to  His  Majesty  that  I  wras  pleased  he  should 
like  my  uniform,  and  that  I  had  four  of  his  subjects  on 
board  the  St.  Lawrence  in  that  uniform,  whom  I  hoped 
to  return  to  His  Majesty  as  good  officers.  After  a  little 
conversation  he  bowed  and  retired.  When  Mr. 
Donelson  came  from  the  King  he  found  us  straying 
through  a  gallery  of  paintings,  attended  by  the  Superin 
tendent  of  the  King's  grounds.  His  Majesty  is  a  rmm 
of  upward  of  forty,  with  an  amiable  but  by  no  means 
striking  face,  of  moderate  stature,  rather  full-faced,  and 
dressed  in  a  plain,  military  uniform.  He  wore  a 
decoration  on  his  breast. 

"We  were  conducted  through  the  King's  gardens 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  99 

and  through  his  pleasure-grounds,  studded  with  many 
varieties  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and  refreshed  with  several 
beautiful  fountains;  among  other  objects  of  curiosity 
we  were  shown  a  building  said  to  be  a  facsimile  of  one 
recently  excavated  at  Pompeii.  Thence  we  were  driven 
to  the  palace  of  Frederick  the  Great,  a  massive  pile 
enriched  with  paintings,  gildings,  crystal  chandeliers, 
and  I  know  not  what.  One  vast  room  had  the  pillars 
covered  with  precious  stones  of  all  kinds. 

"About  2  P.M.  we  returned  to  the  city  of  Potsdam, 
and  to  a  different  palace  from  that  where  we  had  seen 
the  King  in  the  morning.  Here  we  alighted  and  were 
received  by  the  Baron  Humboldt,  now  eighty  years  of 
age,  an  interesting  remnant  of  humanity  and  one  of 
the  King's  counselors.  After  showing  us  a  small 
room  with  a  round  table,  that  was  arranged  to  go  up 
and  down  through  the  floor,  and  where  the  great 
Frederick  sometimes  dined  privately  with  a  friend,  we 
were  conducted  to  a  Royal  dejeuner.  The  King's 
chamberlain  and  one  or  two  of  the  King's  court  were 
there,  but  we  understood  that  we  were  deprived  of  His 
Majesty's  presence  by  an  unexpected  Cabinet  meeting. 
I  sat  on  Baron  Humboldt's  left.  He  inquired  of  many 
people  he  had  known  in  the  United  States  and  who  had 
passed  from  the  stage  of  life.  We  enjoyed  an  excellent 
repast  with  abundance  of  choice  wines,  and  before 
leaving  the  table,  drank,  standing,  the  King's  health, 
remembering  his  hospitality.  We  spent  the  evening 
with  Mr.  Donelson,  who  spoke  to  me  about  the  German 
Navy,  suggesting  that  it  might  suit  me  to  command  it, 
which  I  disposed  of  with  a  passing  remark.  He  more 
than  once  reiterated  the  suggestion,  saying  the  Prince 
Adalbert  would  not  be  given  military  rank,  and  that 
the  officer  from  the  American  Navy  who  should  be 


100  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

placed  at  its  head  would  be  rather  a  ministerial  than  an 
active,  professional  officer.  I  said  I  could  name  others 
more  suited  to  the  office  than  myself,  and  gave  many 
reasons  why  it  would  not  suit  me,  but  he  to  the  last 
seemed  to  feel  a  strong  desire  that  I  should  consent  and, 
if  the  Frankfort  Government  would  arrange  the  mone 
tary  matter  to  suit  me,  proposed  that  I  should  com 
municate  with  him,  and  he  would  attend  to  all  the  rest . 
His  son,  John,  is  anxious  to  enter  our  Navy,  and  I  gave 
his  father  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  recom 
mending  him  in  strong  terms,  for  he  is  a  fine  youth. 

"We  got  to  Dresden  at  four  in  the  afternoon  an! 
took  lodgings  at  the  Hotel  de  Saxe.  I  sent  my  carl 
by  Auguste  to  the  Minister  of  State.  Stoats-minister 
Pfordten.  On  the  following  day.  having  received  two 
cards  from  the  Minister  of  State  of  Saxony  (Dresden 
being  the  capital  of  that  kingdom)  we  called  on  him  in 
full  uniform,  conveyed  by  two  handsome  carriages. 
He  received  us  with  cordiality,  and  regretted  that  we 
would  not  remain  longer  than  the  following  day,  as  he 
wished  us  to  dine  with  him.  We  had  quite  a  long 
interview,  during  which  he  spoke  freely  of  the  political 
changes  going  on  in  Germany,  said  that  Saxony  desired 
the  confederation  of  Germany,  that  they  wished  to 
cultivate  the  most  friendly  relations  with  the  United 
States,  and  the  two  nations  must  always  be  on  friendly 
terms,  as  there  were  no  rival  interests. 

"In  the  course  of  the  day  visited  many  points  of 
interest,  seeing  the  finest  gallery  of  paintings  in  Europe 
and  works  of  art  of  countless  value  —  jewels,  splendid 
collection  of  armor  of  kings,  knights,  and  gentlemen 
on  foot  and  on  horseback.  And  here  are  Napoleon's 
boots  and  slippers  that  he  wore  at  the  battle  of  No- 
Matter- Where,  and  a  great  many  curious  tilings  in  the 


VARIOUS   SERVICES  101 

way  of  arms  at  different  periods.  In  the  morning  of 
October  26th  left  Dresden  for  Frankfort-on-the-Main, 
one  of  the  old  Hanseatic  cities.  It  snowed  before  we 
arrived  at  Gotha,  where  we  took  post  carriages  for 
Frankfort.  Our  postilion  stopped  to  show  us  the 
prison-house  of  Luther,  where,  to  preserve  him,  the 
King  of  Saxony  had  sent  to  make  him  prisoner,  and 
placed  him  where  his  enemies  should  be  ignorant  of  his 
existence. 

"  In  passing  through  Hesse  we  passed  through  many 
towns  of  considerable  size,  evidently  old,  from  the 
dilapidated  state  of  many  of  the  buildings,  and  the 
quaint  odd  style  of  architecture,  the  oddly  shaped 
shingles,  the  antiquated  tiles,  and,  above  all,  the  win 
dows  with  innumerable  small  panes  of  glass,  some 
stained  of  different  colors.  In  looking  in  the  manly 
faces  of  the  Hessians  I  could  not  but  dwell  on  the 
recollection  of  the  cruelties  their  sires,  sold  to  England 
by  their  Prince,  had,  in  our  struggle  for  freedom, 
inflicted  on  my  country.  The  women,  subjected  to  the 
most  laborious  occupations,  coarse,  hard-featured,  and 
unfeminine  in  look,  seemed  the  personification  of  the 
mothers  of  a  race  of  men  whose  sinews  might  be 
employed  in  riveting  the  chains  of  a  generous  people 
who  were  pouring  out  their  blood  like  water  in  a  struggle 
for  freedom.  But  again  we  must  look  on  the  other 
side  of  the  picture.  They,  too,  are  God's  creatures, 
and,  if  blessed  with  the  light  of  knowledge,  cheered  by 
the  appropriate  pursuit  of  material  life,  blessing  and 
blessed  in  the  proper  sphere  of  wife,  mother,  and 
daughter,  they,  too,  might  bear  the  lineaments  of  love- 
inspiring  beauty,  and  nurse  at  the  domestic  hearth 
and  in  the  lap  of  liberty  the  sons  of  freedom.  But 
God's  will  be  done.  The  ways  of  Omnipotence  are 


102  LIFE  OF   HIRAM    PAULDING 

mysterious,  and  our  mental  vision  is  blind  to  His  won 
drous  wisdom.  Who  knows  but  the  spark  of  freedo  n 
now  intensely  burning  in  the  German  heart  was 
struck  from  the  collision  of  the  oppressing  and  the 
oppressed,  when  near  a  century  ago  my  gallant  countrvr- 
men  forever  cemented  the  bond  of  a  fraternity  that 
gave  a  land  to  the  free  and  a  home  to  the  brave,  and 
from  that  time  has  been  to  the  oppressors  of  the  earth 
like  the  glaring  of  a  baleful  tomb-fire,  but  to  other  sons 
of  men  a  star  of  transcendent  brightness  and  beauly, 
cheering  them  on  to  the  high  destiny  allotted  by  our 
Maker. 

"It  was  late  in  the  evening  of  November  when  ,ve 
arrived  at  Frankfort.  It  is  the  residence  of  the  Roth 
schilds  and  many  other  bankers,  and  has  for  many 
years  been  the  money-changing  city  of  Europe.  In 
most  of  the  small  towns  through  which  we  had  passed 
in  the  last  two  days  we  saw  sometimes  one,  sometimes 
two  "liberty  poles"  newly  erected,  and  every  one 
spoke  his  political  sentiments  without  reserve,  the  less 
remarkable,  perhaps,  because  all  seemed  to  think  the 
same.  When  once  established  in  our  quarters  in  the 
Hotel  de  Russe,  I  sent  my  card  and  a  letter  of  introduc 
tion  to  the  Prince  Adalbert x  of  Prussia,  who  was  at 
lodgings  under  the  same  roof,  and  to  several  ministers 
and  members  of  the  German  Parliament,  and  had 
many  calls  from  interesting  and  distinguished  men. 

"Early  in  the  morning  I  received  a  message  from  the 
Aide  to  Prince  Adalbert  that  he  would  give  audience 
to  my  party  at  eleven,  and  soon  after,  an  invitation  to 
dine  at  four.  His  Royal  Highness  received  us  standing, 
and  after  a  short  conversation  the  party  retired,  the 

^einrich  Wilhelm  Adalbert,  cousin  german  of  Wil- 
helm  I.  of  Germany. 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  103 

Prince  desiring  that  I  would  remain  with  him  for  a 
short  time.  Our  conversation  was  upon  naval  affairs, 
and  continued  for  an  hour,  he  asking  me  a  great  many 
questions  about  ships,  the  German  harbors,  etc.  For 
a  short  tune  we  stood  by  the  window,  and  my  uniform 
there  with  the  Prince  attracted  so  large  a  crowd  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  street  that  we  withdrew  from 
the  window.  After  leaving  the  Prince  we  went  to  the 
German  Parliament  and  listened  to  two  speeches  on 
the  reorganization  of  the  Army.  Everything  was  con 
ducted  in  an  orderly  manner.  I  had  intended  to  leave 
on  the  following  day,  but  found  I  could  not  do  so  and 
fully  accomplish  the  business  of  my  mission.  The 
Naval  Committee  invited  me  to  dine  with  them  on  the 
following  day,  and  I  accepted  for  myself  and  party. 

"At  four  we  were  in  attendance  at  the  table  of  Adal 
bert.  I  was  seated  on  his  left  and  Minister  Duckwitz 
on  his  right,  and  my  party  were  distributed  about  the 
table  with  a  few  other  guests  who  were  military  men. 
The  Prince  pledged  me  hi  wine  and  entertained  me 
during  dinner  with  conversation,  most  of  which  was 
about  the  Navy.  The  wine  was  passed  for  a  short 
tune  after  the  dessert  was  placed  on  the  table,  when  the 
guests  rose  and  took  their  leave,  with  the  exception  of 
myself,  whom  the  Prince  engaged  in  conversation  and 
desired  I  would  remain  with  him.  I  did  remain  for  an 
hour,  and  when  I  left,  he  invited  me  to  call  again  at 
half -past  seven.  Our  dinner  was  excellent  and  served 
in  a  most  comfortable,  pleasant  manner.  The  Prince, 
as  upon  all  occasions,  was  dressed  in  plain  clothes  and 
without  any  insignia  of  royalty. 

"  At  half -past  seven  I  went  to  his  room,  and  he 
received  me  cordially,  taking  me  by  the  hand  and 
helping  me  to  a  chair.  After  conversing  for  a  while 


104  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

about  ships  and  steamers,  he  laid  on  the  table  before 
me  a  written  list  of  questions  about  naval  matters 
and,  putting  them  to  me  one  after  another,  made 
his  remarks  in  pencil  as  I  replied.  I  found  thai 
I  had  all  along  differed  from  him  in  regard  to 
the  description  of  force  best  suited  to  the  present 
wants  of  Germany,  and  he  was  as  tenacious  of 
his  opinion  as  I  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  mine 
Although  Germany  has  no  arsenals,  no  officers,  nor  anj' 
preparation  whatever  for  the  commencement  of  L 
Navy,  and  although  her  ports  on  the  North  Sea  are  bu', 
poorly  adapted  to  ships  of  a  larger  draught  than  cor 
vettes,  and  the  ports  on  the  Baltic,  though  not  very 
good,  are  frozen  up  most  of  the  year,  yet  the  Princo 
will  cling  to  the  opinion  that  Germany  should  commence 
her  Navy  with  frigates  as  well  as  steamers  and  corvettes, 
and  indulges  the  fond  hope  of  a  fleet  of  twenty  sail  of 
the  line  at  no  distant  time.  He  has  written  a  memoir 
on  naval  affairs,  creditable  enough  for  one  who  has  had 
no  opportunity  to  be  supposed  master  of  his  subject, 
but  at  some  variance  with  what  will  be  found  practi 
cable.  In  theorizing,  his  zeal  blinds  his  judgment  to 
obstacles  that  will  probably  be  found  insurmountable, 
even  at  a  distant  day,  and  in  the  present  state  of  Ger 
many,  and  for  its  present  wants,  his  theories  sometimes 
amount  to  absurdities.  I  told  him  that  although  I 
was  aware  of  differing  so  much  from  him  in  opinion, 
yet,  in  doing  justice  to  the  confidence  he  reposed  in 
me,  I  must  maintain  mine.  He  thanked  me  and 
seemed  quite  satisfied,  but  by  no  means  convinced. 
He  next  unrolled  his  charts  of  the  North  Sea  and  of  the 
Baltic  and  placed  them  on  the  table  and  examined  every 
river  and  every  port,  about  all  which  he  expressed  his 
views  and  elicited  mine.  It  was  nearly  ten  when,  the 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  105 

subject  seeming  to  be  pretty  well  exhausted,  I  took  my 
leave. 

"On  the  following  day  he  sent  for  me  again,  and  on 
going  to  his  room  he  exhibited  a  number  of  written 
questions  prepared  by  Minister  Duckwitz  and  himself, 
and  which  they  requested  I  would  answer  hi  writing. 
I  begged  him  to  read  them  and,  greatly  to  my  surprise, 
the  first  one  was  whether  I  advised  that  the  central 
Government  should  purchase  a  steamer  now  building 
in  England.  I  could,  of  course,  know  nothing  of  the 
vessel,  and  I  learned  from  the  Prince  that  neither  he 
nor  any  one  of  the  Government  knew  more  about  her 
than  had  been  told  probably  by  interested  persons. 
I  said  to  his  Highness  that,  as  I  had  before  stated,  I 
knew  nothing  of  the  vessel  building  and,  having  no 
experience  in  building  steamers,  I  could  not  be  supposed 
a  competent  judge;  that  in  discussing  the  subject  before, 
I  had  freely  expressed  my  opinion  and  was  prepared  to 
do  so  again;  that  it  did  not  involve  professional  expe 
rience  or  judgment  such  as  I  might  be  supposed  to  have 
as  a  naval  officer;  that  Minister  Duckwitz  and  him 
self  and  the  Naval  Committee  could  as  well  judge  in 
the  matter  as  myself,  and  I  hoped  His  Royal  Highness 
would  not  be  disappointed  in  my  saying  that  I  respect 
fully  declined  to  answer  those  questions  in  writing. 
He  promptly  replied:  "I  am  not  offended,  I  think  you 
are  right.  And  will  you  say  the  same  to  the  Com 
mittee  ?  "  I  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  he  took  me 
by  the  hand  in  leaving,  and  thanked  me  and  regretted 
that  he  should  have  given  me  so  much  trouble. 

"  The  dinner  with  the  '  Committee  on  Commerce  and 
the  Navy'  was  given  in  our  hotel.  At  four  we  pre 
sented  ourselves  in  the  anteroom,  and  were  there 
received  by  a  large  party  of  gentlemen  of  the  National 


106  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

Assembly.  In  a  short  time  dinner  was  announced. 
The  Prince  Adalbert  made  his  appearance  and  I  was 
seated  on  his  right,  and  on  the  left  of  Minister  Duck- 
witz,  the  Minister  of  Commerce  and  the  Navy.  The 
gentlemen  of  my  suite  were  distributed  about  the  table. 
Our  company  consisted  of  about  fifty  of  the  Ministers 
and  Members  of  the  National  Assembly  of  the  '  Right 
and  Left.'  At  the  head  of  the  company  the  most  con 
spicuous  personage  was  Von  Gagern,  the  president. 
He  is  a  man  six  feet  ten  or  eleven,  well  proportioned,  of 
rather  dark  complexion,  and  a  fine  manly  face.  The 
President  of  the  Assembly  is  neither  of  the  'Right' 
nor  'Left/  but  steers  a  medium  course  in  the  politics 
of  the  country,  voting  sometimes  with  one  party  and 
sometimes  with  the  other.  The  President  is  elected 
monthly,  and  since  the  Assembly  commenced  its  ses 
sions  in  April  last,  Gagern  has  always  been  chosen. 

"  The  first  toast  that  was  given  was  to  the  success 
of  the  German  Navy  with  a  prince  of  the  royal  blood 
at  the  head  of  it.  This  met  with  an  approving  mur 
mur,  and  the  Prince  Adalbert  rose  and  made  a  short 
address,  speaking  sometimes  in  English  and  sometimes 
in  German,  concluding  by  an  acknowledgment  of  his 
obligations  to  me,  and  saying:  "Now,  gentlemen,  let 
us  have  acts  and  not  words."  After  this  a  number  of 
toasts  were  given  and  speeches  made,  all  more  or  less 
complimentary  to  our  country  and  our  Navy,  and  the 
greatest  enthusiasm  and  good  feeling  toward  us  was 
evidently  predominant.  Twice  I  felt  it  necessary  to 
respond  to  these  toasts  and  addresses  by  a  reply.  It 
was  by  no  means  an  agreeable  exhibition  of  my  powers 
of  eloquence,  for  I  felt  that  the  assembled  wisdom  of 
Germany  was  attentive  to  what  I  said,  and  it  was 
indeed  a  task  that  I  would  not  have  assumed  volunta- 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  107 

rily.  Whether  I  acquitted  myself  tolerably  or  not,  I 
will  not  venture  to  say,  but  I  was  encouraged  by  the 
thanks  and  salutations  of  many  present,  one  of  whom 
was  Mr.  Von  Gagern,  and  they  came  from  different 
parts  of  the  table  to  strike  their  glasses  with  mine  (a 
cordial  German  salutation).  What  I  said  I  do  not 
remember,  but  I  had  no  preparation  for  such  an  essay 
as  I  had  never  been  practised  in  familiar  greetings  at 
the  social  board.  Every  one's  heart  seemed  light,  and 
all  tongues  prompted  to  speak. 

"  It  then  occurred  to  me  that  the  Prince  had  at  my 
last  interview  requested  me  to  say  to  the  Committee 
what  I  had  said  to  him  and,  seeing  no  occasion  so  suit 
able  as  this,  I  inquired  whether  I  should  then  do  so, 
and  whether  it  would  be  of  service  to  him.  He 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  saying  it  would  be  of  great 
service  to  him,  and  the  glass  rang  with  the  tap  of  the 
knife,  and  I  rose  to  a  silent  table.  I  went  on  at  once 
and  without  hesitation  to  say  that  I  had  risen  for  the 
purpose  of  stating  to  the  company  the  object  of  my  visit 
to  Frankfort,  to  acknowledge  the  compliment  that  had 
been  paid  me  and  my  naval  service,  and  to  express  the 
pleasure  it  had  given  me  to  communicate  whatever 
information  it  had  been  in  my  power  to  give  as  a  naval 
officer.  I  spoke  of  the  difficulties  that  a  nation  must 
encounter  in  the  establishment  of  a  Navy,  having 
neither  ships  nor  officers,  and  that  it  had  been  my 
opinion  that  great  care  was  necessary  not  to  increase 
their  force  faster  than  it  could  be  made  effective.  I 
spoke  of  small  ships  rather  than  large  as  being  best 
adapted  to  their  present  wants;  of  the  necessity  of 
arsenals,  materiel,  the  survey  of  their  ports  and  rivers, 
and  many  other  things  connected  with  this  subject. 
Lastly  I  discouraged  the  idea  of  purchasing  vessels 


108  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

for  purposes  of  war,  that  had  not  been  built  with  tha "> 
view,  and  how  important  it  was,  even  if  they  contracted 
for  the  building  of  ships,  that  suitable  persons  should 
be  appointed  to  superintend  their  building.  When  ] 
had  concluded,  there  was  a  loud  murmur  of  applause, 
the  Prince  thanked  me,  and  many  people  came  from 
different  parts  of  the  table  to  strike  their  glasses  with 
mine  and  thank  me.  Amongst  them  was  President 
Von  Gagern. 

"  When  the  evening  was  well  advanced  and  the  com 
pany  had  for  some  time  been  getting  more  and  moro 
excited,  showing  that  all  hearts  were  full  of  enthusiasm 
for  our  institutions,  and  that  they  felt  the  most  un 
bounded  confidence  in  our  friendship  and  sympathy 
and  that  the  political  feeling  was  breaking  through  the 
bounds  of  party  spirit  and  party  restraint,  I  rose  to 
take  my  leave.  Our  hats  and  swords  were  soon  found 
and  the  party  broke  up  and  crowds  came  around  us 
expressing  the  friendship  and  good-will  in  manner  and 
language  that  could  not  be  mistaken  .  .  .  and  in  the 
midst  of  friendly  compliment  we  took  our  leave." 

NOVEMBER. 

"We  called  on  Minister  Duckwitz  and  then  on 
Burgomaster  Smith  and  lastly  on  the  Archduke  John 
of  Austria,  now  the  quondam  President  of  the  German 
Confederation.  His  Imperial  Highness  had  the  day 
before  sent  us  an  invitation  to  dine  with  him  on  Friday 
(this  was  Wednesday)  if  we  remained  so  long  in  Frank 
fort;  in  a  delicate  and  gentlemanly  manner  leaving  it 
to  our  option.  It  was  our  purpose,  and  perhaps  he 
had  heard  it  stated,  to  leave  on  Friday  if  not  Thursday 
morning.  He  received  us  with  great  kindness,  spoke 
in  civil  terms  to  each  of  my  party,  was  pleasant  arid 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  109 

somewhat  playful  in  language  and  look,  and  finally, 
when  we  were  about  to  retire,  said  he  was  always  happy 
to  see  and  receive  our  countrymen. 

"  It  may  be  appropriate  here  to  say  that  he  is  about 
sixty,  somewhat  bald,  with  an  animated  and  intellectual 
face.  His  dress  was  quite  plain  and  as  a  peculiarity 
he  wore  an  old  black  handkerchief  round  his  neck  with 
out  showing  his  shirt  collar.  When  the  disturbance 
took  place  a  month  since,  on  which  occasion  some  lives 
were  lost,  he  was  living  in  the  country  and  it  was  thought 
necessary  either  for  his  own  safety  or  the  quiet  of  the 
populace  that  he  should  reside  in  the  city.  Carriages 
and  guards  were  provided,  but  he  refused  to  avail  him 
self  of  either,  and  with  his  wife  on  his  arm  walked  into 
the  house  that  had  been  provided  for  him.  His  mar 
riage  is  spoken  of  as  somewhat  extraordinary.  It  seems 
that  years  ago  he  was  traveling  by  post  coach,  and 
stopping  at  some  town  where  he  was  to  have  a  new 
postilion  and  horses,  the  postman  was  greatly  embar 
rassed  as  this  arrival  was  unexpected.  He  had  the  gout 
so  badly  as  to  be  confined  to  his  room  and  his  men  were 
in  the  fields  at  a  distance  that  did  not  admit  of  their 
return  in  time.  The  daughter,  a  buxom  lass,  feeling 
for  her  father's  embarrassment,  begged  him  to  be  at 
ease  and  she  would  arrange  everything.  At  these 
establishments  there  is  always  a  gay  new  suit  of  clothes 
kept  for  the  postilion  for  gala  days,  and  this  suit  the 
young  woman  put  herself  in,  in  the  shortest  possible 
time,  after  having  harnessed  with  the  aid  of  the  pos 
tilion  just  arrived. 

"  She  assisted  His  Imperial  Highness  into  the  carriage 
and,  mounting  the  box,  drove  her  four  horses  in  a  style 
that  attracted  the  attention  and  excited  the  admiration 
of  the  Prince.  His  interest  being  excited,  he  noticed 


110  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

his  gay  postilion  more  than  usually  dressed  and  so 
youthful;  condescended  to  address  one  who  had  once 
excited  his  attention,  and  to  his  surprise,  from  voice 
and  manner  found  it  was  a  maid.  From  that  moment 
it  seems,  after  learning  the  facts  in  the  case,  his  spirit 
was  subdued;  the  Prince  confessed  the  power  of  the 
fair  postilion  over  his  heart  and  it  was  not  long  eie 
the  proud  house  of  Austria  in  the  person  of  this  Prim  e 
mingled  its  sympathies  with  those  of  — if  not  a  peasant 
—  a  post  girl.  Royalty  disclaimed  the  degrading 
alliance  and  the  Prince  was  banished  from  the  cou  't 
and  for  a  time  was  as  if  forgotten.  He  was  fond  of 
rural  life  —  it  had  ever  been  his  passion  —  of  stror  g 
mind  and  simple  manners,  the  gentry  of  the  countiy 
and  the  chase  had  greater  charms  for  him  than  the 
society  of  the  nobles  and  the  pleasures  and  pastimes 
of  the  court.  Time  went  on,  Prince  John  lived  with 
but  little  notice  of  those  allied  to  him,  but  happy  in 
his  retirement  and  with  the  prospect  of  an  increasing 
family,  and  at  a  later  period  the  lady  Postilion  wits 
made  countess. 

"  When  the  republican  movement  took  place  a  year 
since  and  it  was  contemplated  to  cement  the  bond  of 
union  amongst  the  German  States  and  a  man  suited 
to  the  time  and  occasion  was  wanted,  there  was  but 
one  voice,  and  that  pronounced  for  Prince  John  of 
Austria." 

The  journal  gives  a  sketch  of  a  sail  on  the 
Rhine  and  passing  through  Cologne,  but 
as  travelers  have  immortalized  the  beauty 
and  interest  of  that  famous  river,  we  pass 
to  the  22d  of  November,  when  the 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  111 

St.  Lawrence  emerged  from  the  Weser  into 
the  stormy  North  Sea,  and  on  the  2d  of 
December  reached  Southampton.  From 
that  time  until  the  departure  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  for  Lisbon  early  in  January,  the 
journal  is  filled  with  accounts  of  diplomatic 
visits,  interchange  of  courtesies,  and  enter 
tainments  in  which  the  English  cousins 
surpassed  themselves  in  extending  a  friendly 
welcome  to  the  American  frigate. 

A  civic  banquet  and  various  balls  were 
acknowledged  by  entertainments  given  by 
the  officers  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  This 
manifestation  of  friendly  feeling,  as  the 
Captain  says,  "was  doubly  worthy  of  remem 
brance  as  no  man-of-war  under  the  American 
flag  had  ever  before  ventured  on  the  experiment 
of  social  intercourse  with  the  people  of  any 
part  of  England." 

Extracts  from  Paulding's  journal  may  be 
of  interest  here.  He  writes: 

"Whilst  in  the  Weser  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Croskey  enclosing  one  from  Mr.  Brooks,  who  was  then 
Mayor  of  Southampton.  It  was  a  reply  to  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Croskey  on  the  subject  of  our  visiting  South 
ampton  on  our  return  from  the  North  Sea.  It  held  out 
encouragement  to  us  to  come,  saying  we  would  be 
received  with  a  very  kind  welcome.  Every  facility 
for  furnishing  supplies  of  water  and  whatever  we  might 
want  was  promised." 


112  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

NOVEMBER  22d. 

"I  was  glad  to  get  out  of  the  Weser,  although  it  was 
into  the  North  Sea,  a  sea  that  has  as  bad  a  name  at 
this,  and  at  a  more  advanced  season,  as  any  other  that 
I  know.  It  has  soundings  everywhere,  from  thirty 
fathoms  to  less,  and  in  moderate  weather  with  adverse 
tides,  a  ship  may  anchor,  but  the  sun  is  rarely  seen  at 
this  season,  and  the  weather  is  often  so  thick  with  n-in 
and  mist  that  scarcely  anything  can  be  seen.  Then 
there  is  the  island  of  Heligoland  in  your  way,  off  the 
Weser  and  the  Elbe,  which  in  war  may  shut  up  these 
rivers  with  a  small  force,  and  which  the  English,  und  3r- 
standing  its  advantages,  have  appropriated  to  then- 
selves. 

"  The  wind  continued  fair  for  us  until  we  had  passed 
the  Goodwin  Sands,  known  as  the  grave  of  many  a 
gallant  seaman.  They  form  a  protection  to  the  Downs 
to  the  eastward.  With  all  the  precaution  of  light- 
boats,  ships  are  continually  wrecked  here.  A  few 
years  since,  a  pilot  was  knighted  for  his  unwearied 
efforts  and  gallant  intrepidity  in  saving  the  lives  of 
people  wrecked  on  the  Goodwin  Sands.  It  is  said  he 
saved  as  many  as  a  thousand  lives,  and  died  a  few 
years  since,  upward  of  fifty.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
a  tall,  handsome  man.  The  profession  of  saving 
the  lives  of  our  fellow  beings  must  be  considered  a 
noble  calling." 

After  a  stormy  trip  of  ten  days  the  St. 
Lawrence  reached  the  English  coast  and 
anchored  off  Southampton,  and,  finding  him 
self  with  a  violent  cold,  Paulding  sent  the 
First  Lieutenant,  Mr.  Hoff,  to  call  with  the 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  113 

Consul  on  the  Mayor,  after  having  exchanged 
signals.     Again  I  refer  to  the  journal: 

"On  Mr.  Hoff  s  landing,  the  English  flag  on  the  pier 
head  was  hauled  down  and  the  American  hoisted.  He 
was  met  by  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council  and 
welcomed  (they  having  the  kindness  to  express  regret 
at  my  indisposition),  then  taken  in  a  carriage  to  the 
Mayor's  villa  and  entertained  with  a  handsome  colla 
tion." 

DECEMBER  6th. 

"On  Wednesday  the  Consul  and  Captain  Johnson 
and  Baron  Von  Gerolt,  late  minister  from  Prussia  to 
the  United  States  and  now  on  his  way  home  with  his 
wife  and  children,  came  on  board.  We  showed  them 
round  the  ship,  treated  them  to  wine  and  cake  and,  when 
the  Baron  left,  saluted  him  with  seventeen  guns,  the 
German  flag  at  the  fore.  He  expressed  himself  to 
the  consul  much  pleased.  The  Washington  soon  got 
under  way  for  Bremen,  with  the  Baron  and  family  as 
passengers,  and  as  they  passed  under  our  stern  we  gave 
them  three  cheers,  and  the  band  played  'Hail  Colum 
bia.'  While  the  company  were  on  board  the  band 
played  'The  German  Fatherland.' 

"  In  the  evening  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Croskey 
saying  the  Mayor  would  be  on  board  the  following  day 
at  twelve,  with  the  town  barge,  his  'silver  oar/  etc., 
the  badge  of  office." 

OCTOBER  9th,  SATURDAY. 

"The  weather  was  windy  and  rainy  on  the  7th  and, 
after  waiting  until  one  or  two,  the  Consul's  boat  came  to 
say  that  the  visit  would  be  deferred  until  a  favorable 
change.  On  the  8th  at  11  A.M.  I  heard  from  the  Consul 


114  LIFE   OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

that  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council  would  come 
to-day  if  the  weather  were  good  or  not.  My  stewa  rd 
was  sick  and  but  a  poor  repast  prepared.  Mr.  Franc  is, 
my  secretary,  gave  me  what  assistance  he  could,  and  at 
1  P.M.,  preceded  by  the  American  Consul,  Mr.  Croskey, 
the  town  barge  came  alongside.  First  ascended  the 
ladder  beadles,  dressed  off  in  a  very  fine  livery  w  th 
three-cornered  cocked  hats  trimmed  off  with  Ia3e, 
bearing  silver  batons  surmounted  by  a  silver  cro  ,vn 
and  the  silver  oar  symbolical  of  office;  then  came  1he 
Mayor  of  Southampton,  the  Town  Clerk,  the  Sheriff, 
and  the  Common  Council,  presenting  a  formidable 
array  of  fine-looking  English  gentlemen.  It  was  bk  w- 
ing  and  raining  and  I  therefore  considered  the  com 
pliment  of  their  coming  the  greater.  Being  severally 
introduced  and  handed  to  the  quarter-deck,  the  band 
struck  up  'God  Save  the  Queen,'  and  our  salute  of 
seventeen  guns  mingled  their  roar  with  the  music. 

"This  being  ended,  the  Town  Clerk,  in  behalf  of  the 
Mayor,  asked  leave  to  read  from  a  roll  of  parchment 
he  held  in  his  hand  a  resolution  passed  by  the  Common 
Council  at  its  meeting  on  the  6th.  Thereupon  he 
proceeded  to  read  a  resolution  of  welcome  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  in  the  Southampton  River  and  an  invitation 
to  the  Captain  and  officers  to  a  civic  banquet  to  be 
given  by  the  authorities  at  the  Audit  House  of  the 
borough,  and  when  the  reading  was  over  the  parch 
ment  was  handed  to  me.  I  acknowledged  in  behalf 
of  the  officers  the  distinguished  compliment  that  was 
paid  us  by  the  authorities  of  Southampton,  expressed 
our  lively  sense  of  the  honor,  and,  although  I  was  riot 
then  prepared  to  reply  in  suitable  terms  to  the  cordial 
greeting,  the  gentlemen  of  the  city  might  rest  assured 
of  our  reciprocal  feeling  of  kindness  and  good-will. 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  115 

They  were  then  escorted  round  the  decks  and  into  the 
cabin,  where  they  were  entertained  with  a  dejeuner  and 
where  they  remained  for  some  two  hours  making 
speeches  and  giving  toasts,  by  which  the  utmost  social 
and  good  feeling  was  expressed.  Near  sundown  they 
were  invited  into  the  ward-room,  where  a  table  was 
prepared  with  wine,  etc.,  and  they  remained  there  until 
nearly  dark,  then  took  their  leave  under  another  salute 
of  seventeen  guns,  the  salute  of  an  admiral,  which  is 
the  rank  of  a  mayor." 

"On  the  12th,  I  had  a  visit  from  Lieutenant  Drum- 
mond  of  the  Royal  Navy,  who  brought  a  note  of  invita 
tion  from  his  father  for  me  to  visit  him  at  Cadland 
House.  The  son  showed  me  his  father's  residence 
in  sight,  a  large  castle  of  a  place.  Mr.  Drummond  is 
one  of  the  wealthiest  gentlemen  in  this  part  of  the 
country  and  married  Lady  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the 
Duke  of . 

"  In  the  evening  I  was  informed  that  a  gentleman 
wished  to  see  me  at  the  cabin  door.  To  my  great  joy 
who  should  it  be  but  my  friend  Hawes  with  his  daughter 
Mary,  a  young  woman  of  seventeen.  They  spent  the 
night.  Mr.  Hoff  escorted  them  on  shore  the  next  day 
and  I  prepared  for  the  banquet  to  be  given  us  this 
evening.  I  knew  I  had  to  respond  to  the  toast  when 
my  health  was  drunk,  and  I  knew  also  that  reporters 
of  the  Times  and  of  other  newspapers  would  be  there, 
and  felt  annoyed  that  I  had  not  time  to  make  suitable 
preparation.  I  had  also  to  give  the  health  of  the 
Mayor,  George  Laishly,  Esq.,  the  ex-Mayor,  and  Com 
mon  Council  with  prefatory  remarks.  I  had  little 
time  to  prepare  and  what  I  wrote  was  in  the  midst  of 
interruptions  that  were  very  vexatious.  I  tried  to  get 
by  heart  what  I  had  to  say,  but  found  I  could  not,  and 


116  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

gave  it  up  in  despair,  knowing  that  if  I  could  bul 
imperfectly  remember,  I  should  not  be  able  to  speak 
surrounded  and  gazed  at  by  a  hundred  people,  some  oi 
them  men  of  distinguished  talent.  I  put  my  speeches 
in  my  pocket  and  went  to  the  Consul's,  where  the 
officers,  ten  or  twelve,  were  assembled.  At  six,  the 
hour  for  the  banquet,  we  took  carriages,  headed  b> 
our  Consul,  Mr.  Croskey,  and  drove  to  the  Audit  Hal] 
dressed  in  our  full  uniform.  From  the  hall  the  street 
was  hung  across  with  flags  and  an  immense  crowd  oi 
both  sexes  was  assembled,  leaving  only  room  for  oui 
carriages.  A  committee  of  the  Common  Council  met 
us  at  the  door,  and  we  were  shown  to  the  Mayor's 
room,  where  already  had  assembled  a  very  large  com 
pany.  I  was  presented  to  many  gentlemen,  and  an 
agreeable  and  cordial  conversation  was  kept  up  until 
seven,  when  the  Mayor  led  me  into  the  banquet  hall, 
followed  by  the  other  guests. 

"The  Mayor,  at  the  head  of  the  table,  seated  me 
at  his  right  and  the  officers  were  seated  about  the  table 
in  different  parts,  the  band  playing  the  '  Roast  Beef  of 
Old  England.'  Mr.  Cockburn,  M.  P.,  Mr.  Hutchins, 
ex-M.  P.,  Captain  Kiel  of  the  Royal  Navy,  and  a  host  of 
other  distinguished  gentlemen,  besides  the  Common 
Council  and  ex-Common  Council,  were  ranged  round 
the  table.  Mr.  Deacon,  the  town  clerk,  and  Mr. 
Andrews,  the  sheriff,  acted  as  vice-presidents.  Turtle 
soup,  turbot  of  immense  size,  venison,  hare,  turkeys, 
pheasants,  partridges  were  among  the  good  things 
before  us.  When  the  meats  were  removed,  the  dessert 
disposed  of,  an  important-looking  personage  behind 
the  Mayor's  chair  called  out  at  the  highest  pitch  of 
his  voice:  'Gentlemen,  attend;  gentlemen,  I  claim 
silence  for  the  Mayor  ! '  When  all  was  still  the  Mayor 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  117 

rose  and  gave  without  remark,  'The  health  of  Her 
Majesty,  the  Queen ! '  This  was  followed  by  three 
times  three  cheers  and  the  band  played  'God 
save  the  Queen,'  and  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  (it 
was  half-past  nine)  was  fired.  In  a  few  moments 
afterward  our  Toast-master,  elevated  on  a  platform 
behind  the  Mayor,  called  out  again  in  the  same  manner, 
claiming  silence  for  the  Mayor,  and  His  Honor  rose  and 
gave,  'The  President  of  the  United  States  ! '  This  was 
also  drunk  with  three  cheers,  the  band  playing  'Hail, 
Columbia, '  and  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  was  fired. 
Then  the  Queen  Dowager  and  the  rest  of  the  royal  fam 
ily.  Then  the  Toast-master  commanded  silence  for  the 
Mayor  and  he  rose  and  said:  'Gentlemen,  I  am  now 
going  to  give  you  a  toast  that  I  know  will  be  drunk  with 
hearty  good-will  and  with  enthusiasm.  This,  gentle 
men,  is  the  toast,  this  gentlemen,  is  the  toast  of  the  evening. 
He  went  on  with  a  most  eloquent  address  complimenting 
us  in  very  high  terms  and  saying  all  that  could  be 
supposed  acceptable  or  agreeable  to  us,  holding  forth 
for  half  an  hour  or  more.  He  then  gave,  'Captain 
Paulding  and  the  officers  of  the  St.  Lawrence.'  It 
was  drunk  with  three  times  three,  the  band  playing  the 
'Star  Spangled  Banner.'  In  this  manner  speeches 
and  toasts  were  made  and  given  until  after  two  in 
the  morning.  The  utmost  harmony  and  good-will 
prevailed  throughout  the  evening. 

"On  the  following  evening,  December  14th,  we  went 
to  the  county  ball.  Quite  a  large  number  of  the 
young  officers  were  there  and  about  two  hundred 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  aristocracy  and  gentry  of 
Southampton  and  the  country  round.  I  found  Sir 
John  Sinclair  here,  a  captain  in  the  Navy,  to  whom  I 
was  introduced  by  Peter  Dixon  (master  of  ceremonies). 


118  LIFE   OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

Sir  John  introduced  me  to  Lady  Sinclair  and  two 
daughters,  and  I  afterwards  was  presented  to  Lady  Riv 
ers,  Lady  Butler,  Lady  Long,  and  their  daughters,  anc 
many  other  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  distinction.  Here  3! 
also  made  the  acquaintance  of  Captain  Breton,  who 
invited  me  to  dine  on  the  following  day,  and  his  daugh 
ter  and  son-in-law,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holiway,  who  in 
vited  me  to  a  ball  on  the  9th  of  January.  I  had  bu& 
little  rest.  We  did  not  get  home  from  the  ball  until 
three  in  the  morning,  and  when  I  arrived  on  board  [ 
found  I  had  many  invitations  to  reply  to,  all  of  which 
I  declined. 

"On  Monday  I  landed  at  Hythe  and,  taking  a  fly, 
drove  to  the  mansion  of  Mr.  Drummond,  four  miles, 
a  large  place  with  magnificent  grounds  in  the  highest 
possible  cultivation  and  kept  in  the  neatest  order.  Mi1. 
Drummond  and  his  son  were  both  out  hunting  and  I 
left  my  card.  On  the  following  day  young  Drummond, 
a  lieutenant  in  the  Navy,  came  on  board  with  his 
sister,  a  young  lady  of  twenty,  accompanied  by  Mi1. 
Cochran  and  Mr.  Percival,  two  young  gentlemen.  He 
expressed  regret  on  the  part  of  his  father  and  for  himself 
that  they  were  absent,  and  both  he  and  his  sister  several 
times  repeated  an  invitation  that  I  would  come  and 
spend  some  days  with  them.  Mr.  Drummond,  the 
elder,  married  a  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Rutland. 
After  walking  over  the  ship  I  treated  my  guests  to 
champagne  and  apples. 

"  In  the  evening  I  dined  with  Mr.  Borrett,  the  per 
sonal  friend  of  Admiral  Dundas,  first  lord  of  the 
admiralty.  We  had  an  elegant  dinner,  about  fifteen 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  in  the  evening  until  4  A.M. 
a  ball,  a  number  of  young  ladies  having  assembled  to 
meet  the  young  officers  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  was 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  119 

altogether  a  delightful  affair.  The  officers  are  almost 
daily  dining  with  some  gentleman,  and  nothing  can 
be  kinder  than  the  generous  and  welcome  manner  in 
which  they  are  received  and  entertained." 

DECEMBER  20th. 

"To-day  we  commenced  issuing  our  cards  of  invita 
tion  for  a  ball  to  be  given  by  the  Captain  and  officers 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  26th  day  of  December,  on 
board.  On  Thursday  the  21st  we  dined  with  our 
consul,  Mr.  J.  R.  Croskey,  Esq.,  at  the  Dolphin  Hotel. 
Seventy  gentlemen  sat  down  at  the  table,  and  a  mag 
nificent  entertainment  was  prepared.  The  utmost 
harmony  and  good  feeling  prevailed  and  everything 
went  on  charmingly.  Of  the  company,  my  old  friend 
Admiral  Douglas  was  there,  and  the  officer  next  in 
distinction  was  Sir  John  Gordon  Sinclair,  a  captain  in 
the  Royal  Navy  and  a  fine  fellow.  On  the  next  even 
ing  I  dined  with  Mr.  Allen  and  had  a  charming  party 
of  gentlemen  and  ladies.  Mr.  Edwards,  the  collector 
of  customs,  who  sat  by  me,  said,  without  meaning  any 
compliment,  we  had  'really  gained  the  hearts  of 
everybody.' " 

I  pass  over  the  account  of  many  other 
delightful  entertainments  and  glance  at  the 
account  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ball. 

"From  the  23d  we  commenced  in  earnest  to  get  the 
ship  ready  for  the  intended  ball  on  the  26th,  and 
all  from  the  First  Lieutenant  to  the  messenger  boys 
seemed  interested  in  what  was  going  on.  On  Monday, 
which  was  Christmas,  it  rained  and  our  decks  got  wet, 
although  covered  with  awnings  and  well  enclosed. 


120  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

It  was  quite  a  sad  and  sorry  scene,  for  the  flags  and 
evergreens  and  all  the  beautiful  and  fanciful  parapher 
nalia,  such  as  sailors  alone  can  prepare,  were  dripping, 
and  our  ship  might  be  compared  to  a  bride  in  tears. 
We  began  to  fear  for  our  success,  but  still  hoped  for  a 
favorable  change  in  wind  and  weather.  The  morning 
of  the  ball  came.  At  2  A.M.  it  was  starlight,  at  four  t 
was  raining  and  blowing  from  the  southwest,  a  stormy 
quarter.  In  the  morning  the  decks  were  running  with 
water  and  it  seemed  impossible  that  our  lady  guests 
could  come  without  a  self-sacrificing  spirit  such  as  \ve 
had  not  reason  to  expect,  and  if  they  came  it  would  be 
at  the  risk,  if  not  the  sacrifice  of  health.  In  the  rain 
and  wind  I  sent  Mr.  Francis  to  Mr.  Croskey  to  know 
what  was  to  be  done,  and  he  replied, '  Have  it  on  shore  / 
No  time  was  to  be  lost  and  we  accordingly  stripped  the 
bride  of  her  gay  attire  and  prepared  for  a  less  gay 
second  bridal  at  the  Archery  rooms  on  shore  at  South 
ampton.  Placards  were  posted  and  every  means 
taken  to  give  information,  and  it  was  well  understood 
before  the  hour  of  seven  arrived. 

"I  landed,  and  at  seven,  having  first  visited  tire 
rooms,  escorted  Mrs.  Croskey,  the  wife  of  the  American 
Consul,  to  the  ball.  We  arrived  at  half-past  seven  and 
the  company  commenced  assembling.  The  ballroom 
was  dressed  in  flags  with  mirrors  and  pictures  and  ;ill 
looked  well.  The  supper  room  was  set  to  accommodate 
two  hundred,  and  a  magnificent  repast  prepared.  The 
card  room  was  also  prepared  and  everything  seemed  to 
be  in  readiness,  the  music,  our  own  band,  being  in  their 
place.  More  than  a  dozen  of  the  petty  officers  were 
on  shore,  including  the  orderly-sergeant  and  a  corporal. 
My  steward  and  Ralph  Lawrence  were  sent  to  take 
care  of  and  give  out  the  wines  and  liquors.  It  is  enough 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  121 

to  say  of  Ralph  that  he  got  drunk  at  supper,  said  he  was 
a  Virginian,  abused  all  Englishmen,  and  wanted  to  fight. 

"At  ten  o'clock  the  ballroom  was  crowded,  there  being 
more  than  three  hundred  of  both  sexes.  It  was  a  gay 
and  beautiful  scene  and  all  went  off  delightfully,  every 
one  seeming  to  think  of  nothing  but  enjoyment.  At 
twelve  I  led  Mrs.  Croskey  to  supper,  and,  the  signal 
being  given,  the  company  followed.  When  all  the 
ladies  and  many  of  the  gentlemen  were  seated,  I  rose 
and  gave  them  a  welcome  too  long  to  be  repeated  here 
and  which  was  received  with  much  applause.  Nothing 
occurred  to  mar  the  pleasure  of  the  company.  I 
remained  until  five  in  the  morning.  After  the  ladies 
had  left  the  supper  room  several  gentlemen  of  distinction 
remained.  A  friend  of  Cobden  said,  'Your  country 
is  the  greatest  hi  the  world.  We  have  no  man  in 
England  equal  to  your  rejected  President.  No  man  in 
England  can  produce  such  a  state  paper  as  his  message 
to  Congress.'  Fearing  he  would  be  overheard  and  our 
harmony  disturbed,  I  said  to  him  we  must  not  speak 
of  this  now,  and  the  conversation  was  changed. 

"When  our  interchange  of  courtesies  was  all  over, 
it  seemed  to  me  singularly  remarkable  that  we  should, 
in  such  numbers  and  under  circumstances  of  con 
viviality,  have  escaped  the  discussion  of  irritating  sub 
jects  and  that  no  harsh  or  irritating  remarks  had 
escaped  anyone.  It  was  a  real  fraternization.  We 
found  many  very  excellent  people  who  treated  us  with 
the  most  liberal  and  elegant  hospitality  and  feel 
assured  that  we  made  a  most  favorable  impression  on 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  gentlemen  and  ladies." 

On  January  fifteenth  he  writes  from  Lis 
bon: 


122  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

"We  hoisted  the  Portuguese  flag  and  saluted  with 
twenty-one  guns,  which  was  returned  from  the  castle-. 
We  then  hoisted  again  the  Portuguese  flag  for  the 
Admiral  and  saluted  with  seventeen  guns,  which  was 
returned.  We  then  hoisted  the  English  white  ensiga 
and  saluted  Rear-Admiral  Sir  Charles  Napier's  fla^;. 
After  this  I  went  in  the  gig  and  called  on  Admire  J 
Napier,  on  board  the  three-decker  St.  Vincent.  He  and 
his  Captain  (Dacres)  were  both  on  shore.  I  left  my 
card  and  went  on  shore  to  call  on  Mr.  Hopkins,  oir 
charge.  A  young  Portuguese  gentleman  assisted  me  to 
hire  a  calasse,  a  sort  of  chaise  with  two  horses,  one  of 
which  was  between  the  shafts  and  the  other  was  ridden 
by  the  driver  in  jack-boots.  The  horses  were  poo~, 
with  their  tails  tied  up  in  knots,  the  shafts  came  near 
the  horse's  back,  which  was  surmounted  with  a  queer- 
looking  saddle,  about  three  feet  high  on  the  pommel. 

"  Lisbon  is  built  on  steep  hills  that  look  as  though  it 
would  take  a  good  horse  to  surmount  them,  but  our 
nags  went  off  at  a  round  pace  up  and  down  and  I 
expected  every  moment  to  see  some  one  run  over  and 
perhaps  our  horses  plunge  headlong.  At  last  after  trav 
ersing  several  very  steep  hills  we  came  on  the  top  of  a 
very  high  one  to  the  house  of  our  representative. 
The  city  of  Lisbon  is  not  attractive  to  the  pedestrian. 
The  surface  drainage  is  in  open  gutters  through  the 
middle  of  the  street.  When  one  can  gain  the  country  a 
broad  plateau  is  spread  out  before  one,  and  the  great 
aqueduct,  unsurpassed  by  any  in  Europe,  partly 
Roman,  partly  Gothic,  is  well  worth  seeing.  The  wines 
of  the  country  are  abundant  and  good." 

At  Cadiz,  where  the  St.  Lawrence  made  a 
longer  stay,  the  Commodore  writes: 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  123 

"  We  did  not  find  an  American  flag  flying  in  the 
harbor.  .  .  .  Cadiz  is  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  on 
which  is  —  or  was — mounted  its  defenses.  The  wall  is 
very  thick  and  strong  and  in  times  past  bristled  with 
camion,  showing  a  front  in  all  directions.  Most  of  the 
cannon  have  been  removed  and  some  are  lying  without 
carriages.  .  .  .  Even  the  sea-wall  is  becoming  ruined 
and  seems  to  be  in  harmony  with  everything  Spanish. 
The  city  is  a  city  of  palaces,  beautiful  from  the  sea,  and 
more  so  in  passing  through  the  streets,  yet  it  is  said 
there  is  little  wealth  here  and  much  of  showy  poverty." 

During  the  month  the  St.  Lawrence  re 
mained  there  while  some  repairs  were  going 
on,  he  exchanged  courtesies  with  the  officials, 
was  saddened  by  the  changes  he  found  in 
the  once  gay  and  beautiful  city,  and  the  ship 
returned  to  Lisbon,  where  he  found  himself 
in  the  midst  of  a  pleasant  official  circle. 
Among  them  were  officers  of  the  British  Navy, 
the  Russian  and  Swedish  ministers,  the  Pope's 
Nuncio,  Lady  Caroline  Norton,  the  poetess, 
and  Admiral  Sir  George  Sartorius,  who  had 
for  a  time  been  acting  as  an  admiral  in  the 
Portuguese  Navy,  and  who  had  his  home  in 
what  had  formerly  been  a  monastery,  and 
on  whose  extensive  estate  quantities  of  wine 
were  made,  and  oil-presses,  too,  were  in 
evidence.  He  says  the  Pope's  Nuncio  was 
a  "  bright,  lively  fellow  of  thirty-five  or 
forty,  wore  shorts  and  red  stockings." 


124  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

In  speaking  of  his  visit  to  the  palace  of 
the  King  of  Portugual,  he  says: 

"We  took  our  places  and  awaited  the  King's 
approach.  He  first  addressed  some  civil  words  to  Mi1. 
Hopkins,  our  consul,  speaking  English  very  well,  and 
after  a  short  conversation  spoke  to  me,  asking  the  name 
of  my  ship,  if  we  found  the  Tagus  a  good  anchorage, 
etc.,  and  complimented  the  behavior  of  our  men  oa 
liberty,  contrasting  them  favorably  with  the  men  of 
Sir  Charles  Napier's  ships.  He  soon  tired,  and  bowed 
and  turned  to  some  one  else,  and  I  was  glad  of  it,  fcr 
whatever  may  be  the  ambition  of  other  men  I  do  net 
like  conversing  with  a  king.  He  is  a  German  prince 
of  Saxe-Coburg.  He  is  tall,  with  a  mild  face,  though 
it  is  covered  with  hair.  His  person  is  very  good.  He 
was  dressed  in  plain  black  clothes.  He  is  remarked 
for  his  personal  civility,  lifting  his  hat  to  every  one  that 
salutes  him  in  the  street.  He  has  five  or  six  children, 
the  eldest  a  boy  of  eleven,  heir  to  the  throne  when  the 
Queen  dies.  The  second  son  is  nine  or  ten  and  devoted 
to  the  Navy.  The  boys  behaved  with  great  propriety. 
"At  this  soiree  was  the  Duke  of  Saldanha,  the  Duke  of 
Terceira,  Viscount  de  Castro,  and  the  foreign  ministers, 
besides  many  other  gentlemen,  numbering  about  fifty.'' 

In  his  letter  of  farewell  to  Admiral  Sar- 
torius,  in  which  he  thanks  him  for  a  cask  of 
his  Burgundy,  he  says: 

"I  am  most  truly  thankful  to  you  for  your  friendly 
attention,  as  well  as  for  your  sentiment  of  mutual  good 
will  between  our  common  countries,  in  which,  with  ail 
my  heart,  I  most  sincerely  sympathize  with  you. 
Individually,  and  where  my  feelings  and  just  apprecia- 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  125 

tion  of  personal  character  are  concerned,  I  know  no 
difference  of  nativity  between  your  country  and  mine. 
"  We  feel  that  our  energy  and  our  virtuous  impulses, 
even  to  the  love  of  liberty,  are  derived  from  the  mother 
that  first  nurtured  and  sent  us  into  life.  'Jonathan,' 
although  an  unruly  fellow  in  some  things,  will  always 
be  found  tractable  and  in  affectionate  remembrance 
of  paternal  care  when  he  finds  the  paternal  brow  un 
clouded.  The  time  indeed  is  not  distant  when  the 
coldness  and  distrust  with  which  many  of  our  country 
men  may  regard  each  other  will  pass  away,  and  to  this 
feeling  a  more  intimate  and  familiar  association  is  alone 
necessary,  for  our  sympathies  and  opinions  on  the  most 
important  matters  of  social  life  are  similar  if  not  the 
same.  There  is  no  officer  in  the  American  Navy  that 
does  not  contemplate  with  the  pride  of  a  kindred  race 
the  disinterested  and  benevolent  heroism  with  which 
the  Captain  of  the  Malabar,  after  fruitless  efforts  to 
save  the  Missouri,  periled  his  life  to  soothe  and  save 
an  American  officer  from  perishing  in  the  flames  of  his 
burning  ship.  It  is  not  to  all  of  us,  Admiral,  that  it  is 
known  that,  while  thus  forgetful  of  yourself  and  all 
else  but  humanity  and  honor,  a  young  and  devoted 
wife,  inspired  by  your  own  gallant  spirit,  was  witnessing 
in  silent  admiration  your  heroism  and  your  danger. 
In  conclusion  permit  me  to  add  to  your  toast  and  say, 
as  calling  to  remembrance  our  happy  meeting  here, 
somewhat  as  I  have  elsewhere  said,  'Where  such  men 
are  found,  the  women  claim  our  adoration/  And  now, 
Admiral,  as  a  parting  favor  I  beg  you  will  come  on 
board  on  Saturday  and  luncheon  with  us.  I  have 
invited  Captain  Seymour  and  some  of  our  friends  of 
the  Legations  to  meet  you.  We  can  take  a  parting 
cup  and  say  'God  speed'  whether  we  may  or  may  not 


126  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

meet  again.     With  my  fervent  wishes  for  your  happi 
ness  and  that  of  all  beneath  your  roof,  I  am 

Faithfully  yours, 

H.  P. 

To  ADMIRAL  SIR  GEORGE  R.  SARTORIUS,  Piedade." 


The  St.  Lawrence  extended  her  cruise 
again  to  the  north,  visiting  points  on  the 
shores  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark, 
and  again  went  to  Southampton  for  mail 
and  stores,  being  greeted  everywhere  with 
friendly  hospitality. 

While  in  England  he  had  the  opportunity 
of  meeting  his  old  friend,  Mr.  Siday  Hawes, 
visiting  his  home,  and,  being  escorted  by 
him  to  London,  spent  a  day  or  so  in  sight 
seeing,  but  evidently  was  not  much  impressed 
with  anything  until  he  came  to  Westmin 
ster  Abbey,  "  where, "  he  says,  "we  paused 
in  solemn  contemplation  of  the  illustrious 
dead.  We  spent  a  long  time  in  this  beau 
tiful  and  solemn  Abbey.  The  building  itself 
is  worthy  of  much  time,  even  if  unconnected 
with  its  glorious  associations.  It  appears 
highly  finished  and  even  overwrought,  but 
when  examined  as  a  whole  with  all  its 
exquisitely  rich  decorations,  it  impresses 
one  forcibly  with  its  solemn  grandeur  and 
rare  combination  of  architectural  beauty." 


SIDAY  HAWES 

Coltishall,  England 

Died  1863 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  127 

The  architecture  of  the  Houses  of  Par 
liament  call  forth  in  his  journal  an  interest 
ing  comment.  He  says:  "A  plainer  style 
of  architecture  would  have  pleased  my  eye 
better.  .  .  .When  considered  as  the  Legisla 
tive  Hall  of  a  great  nation  and  where  the 
law  is  administered  in  all  its  majesty,  the 
gingerbread  decoration  of  small  spires  stuck 
everywhere  about  it  looks  like  a  departure 
from  every  consideration  attributable  to  the 
unaffected  and  sturdy  English  character." 

While  visiting  the  beautiful  home  of  the 
sister  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Hawes,  at  Dulwich, 
he  says:  "When  we  had  rested  and  taken 
a  lunch,  Mr.  Courage,  his  son  John,  and 
myself  set  off  for  Greenwich  to  see  the 
famous  asylum  for  the  invalid  British  sea 
men.  It  was  at  the  distance  of  a  few  miles. 
We  passed  along  a  continuous  town  by  the 
Thames ....  Before  we  got  to  the  Greenwich 
Hospital  we  saw  here  and  there  the  old 
pensioners,  with  their  blue  frock  coats  and 
three-cornered  cocked  hats,  seated  at  some 
door  or  walking  with  a  woman  or  child,  or 
hobbling  along  on  a  crutch.  I  had  witnessed 
nothing  in  England  that  interested  my 
feelings  and  my  mind  as  much  as  the  sight 
of  these  men,  and  it  was  not  long  before  we 
were  within  the  Hospital  grounds  with  the 


128  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

immense  pile  of  noble  buildings  for  the  ac 
commodation  of  the  invalids,  and  surrounded 
by  the  recipients  of  the  nation's  bounty,  to 
the  number  of  twenty-seven  hundred. 

"A  rush  of  confused  thought  pressed  upon 
my  mind.  It  was  a  melancholy  sight,  yet 
it  was  a  noble  charity  worthy  a  nation';} 
gratitude.  Who  can  say  but  that  it  is  the 
means  by  which  the  nation  exists?  England 
could  not  exist  without  her  seamen,  and 
would  her  seamen  abide  by  her  if  not  pro 
tected  and  cherished  in  their  old  age? 
Besides  the  buildings  of  three  stories  high, 
in  which  the  wards  are  provided,  there  are 
long,  high  corridors  open  at  either  side, 
furnishing  a  noble  walk  in  rain  or  in  sunshine, 
and  the  whole  fronting  the  Thames  with 
the  great  city  on  the  opposite  side.  Jack 
may  hobble  along  here  and  watch  the  ships 
put  to  sea  and  think  how  he  once,  in  times 
past,  full  of  life,  hope,  youth,  and  reckless 
ness,  thus  boxed  his  craft  down  the  river 
on  his  way  to  the  ocean  or  wheresoever  else 
his  fate  might  take  him.  With  time  and  his 
infirmities,  his  feelings  have  changed,  and  his 
only  care  now  is  to  watch  the  changing  scene 
before  him,  to  be  patient,  and  live  along 
until  the  flickering  lamp  with  another  blaze 
is  gone  forever.  One  would  scarce  look  for 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  129 

pride  or  ambition  amongst  this  mass  of 
human  infirmity,  yet,  in  noticing  a  medal 
suspended  from  the  button  of  an  old  tar, 
his  eye  kindled  and  all  his  manhood  seemed 
to  inspire  his  worn-out  frame,  as  he  recapitu 
lated  the  occasions  for  which  he  should  have 
received  three  more.  It  was  a  momentary 
burst  of  nature  and  he  calmly  smiled  with  the 
remark  that  'they  had  decided  against  him.' ' 

In  the  autumn  of  1850  the  cruise  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  terminated,  pleasant  relations 
having  been  fostered  with  the  several  Euro 
pean  powers  visited,  and  Paulding  brought 
the  frigate  home. 

A  letter  from  Count  Platen,  of  Sweden, 
speaks  of  the  visit  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Stock 
holm,  where  she  was  enthusiastically  received. 

STOCKHOLM,  August  21st,  1849. 
My  dear  sir:  If ,  as  I  had  very  good  reason  to  expect 
when  I  left  you  the  last  time,  after  my  very  flattering 
and  truly  kind  reception  on  board  your  noble  ship,  the 
St.  Lawrence,  I  should  have  met  you  again  hi  a  short 
time,  I  might  perhaps  not  have  troubled  you  with  any 
letter  of  mine,  but,  having  by  the  last  mail  got  the  order 
of  my  Sovereign  to  continue  my  service  here  in  Stock 
holm,  I  think  I  do  not  judge  you  wrongly,  my  dear 
sir,  if  I  believe  that  a  few  words  from  me  will  not  be 
disagreeable  to  you,  even  did  they,  in  full  truth  and 
nothing  but  truth,  contain  something  that  might  be 
construed  into  flattery  by  those  that  did  not  know  you, 


130  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

and  were  speaking  as  I  must  do,  in  a  public  as  well  as 
in  a  private  sense.  It  is  one  of  my  pieces  of  great 
fortune  and  which,  as  you  may  know,  does  not  always 
fall  to  the  lot  of  public  men  to  be  able,  in  both  these 
points  of  view  to  say  that  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  could  never  have  sent  us  a  "better  man,"  and 
that  every  true  friend  of  my  country  must  consider  the 
selection  of  you,  my  dear  sir,  and  your  officers  as  a 
compliment  paid  to  the  country  at  the  time  the  fin  t 
American  man-of-war  paid  a  visit  to  the  capital  of 
Sweden. 

Now  you  must,  however,  understand  that  I  do  not 
only  express  my  own  private  feelings,  but  those  of 
people,  and  even  official  men,  with  whom  you  and  yoi  r 
officers  and  crew  might  have  been  in  contact  in  some 
way  or  other,  and  whose  opinions  I  have  taken  some 
pains  to  hear,  and  all  agree  that  your  mission  was 
altogether  one  that  did  great  honour  to  the  country 
that  sent  it.  After  what  I  have  said,  and  really  do  feel 
upon  this  subject,  it  cannot  astonish  you  if  I  again 
urge  upon  you  the  propriety  of  visiting  Christiania,  the 
present,  and  probably  the  middle  of  September,  abode 
of  the  King,  and  as  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  have  now 
no  more  any  hope  of  meeting  you  there,  it  cannot  but 
be  upon  public  grounds  that  I  do  so.  And  now,  my 
dear  sir,  I  bid  you  "  fare  well"  for  how  long  a  time 
nobody  knows.  Your  visit  here  during  the  time  of  my 
office  will  always  be  a  bright  spot  on  my  horizon  and 
in  forwarding  the  best  thanks  of  my  Lady  for  your 
civility  and  kindness  toward  her  and  her  husband,  I 
sign  myself,  with  the  most  perfect  consideration, 
My  dear  sir, 

Truly  yours, 

(Signed)  PLATEN. 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  131 

One  thing  gave  the  Commodore  no  little 
anxiety  during  this  cruise,  when  the  Ameri 
can  man-of-war  was  in  constant  receipt  of 
attentions  that  must  be  officially  recipro 
cated.  Would  the  officers  of  the  Treasury 
meet  the  expenses  necessarily  involved  in 
the  receptions  he  must  give  to  the  officials 
on  the  foreign  stations?  The  question  was 
asked  and  he  was  advised  by  an  official  of 
the  Treasury  to  "go  on  and  acquit  himself 
with  credit  to  the  Government  he  repre 
sented,  and  when  the  bills  were  presented, 
doubtless  he  would  be  relieved  of  all  expense;'7 
but  until  Congress  passed  a  bill  for  his  relief, 
many  years  later,  in  1867,  this  debt  was  a 
personal  affliction.  It  was  well  for  the  Gov 
ernment  that  Paulding,  regardless  of  the 
personal  inconvenience  that  might  result,  was 
equal  to  the  occasion  and  acquitted  himself 
worthily  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States. 

Certain  despatches  from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  in  1848-49  and  an  extract  from 
a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Mason,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  to  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  in  1850,  may  be  of  interest. 

To  CAPT.  HIRAM  PAULDING, 

Commanding  United  States  Frigate  St.  Laurence. 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  December  18th,  1848. 
Sir:    Your  despatch  No.  4,  dated  at  Bremerhaven 


132  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

November  16th,  has  been  received  and  your  course, 
as  therein  indicated,  is  approved.  Your  conduct  his 
been  judicious,  and  you  have  honorably  and  satis 
factorily  met  the  views  of  the  Department.  It  is  a 
source  of  the  highest  satisfaction  that  you  have  ;so 
gracefully  received  the  marks  of  distinguished  respect 
for  our  country  and  its  flag.  I  am 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)    J.  Y.  MASON. 


CAPT.  H.  PAULDING, 

Commanding  United  States  Frigate  St.  Lawrence. 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  January  25th,  1849. 
Sir:  I  have  received  with  satisfaction  your  despatch 
dated  at  Southampton  28th  December,  1848. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot,  in  advance  of  the  presentation 
of  the  bills,  say  that  the  expense  of  the  entertainment 
given  at  Southampton  on  public  account  will  be 
approved  by  the  officers  of  the  Treasury.  The  question 
will  be  met  and  decided  with  a  due  sense  of  the  high 
and  praiseworthy  motives  which  actuated  you,  and  a 
strong  conviction  of  the  happy  moral  influence  exerted 
on  our  national  character  and  foreign  relations  by  your 
judicious  conduct  in  command  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
on  the  continent  and  in  England.  It  is  a  source  of 
grea.t  satisfaction  to  me  that  the  noble  frigate  was  sent 
on  the  interesting  special  service,  which  has  been  so  well 
performed,  and  already  produced  such  happy  results. 
I  am 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  J.  Y.  MASON. 


VARIOUS  SERVICES  133 

Letter  from  Mr.  J.  Y.  Mason  to  a  senator: 

My  dear  sir:  I  am  asked  to  give  some  expression 
of  opinion  as  to  the  character  of  the  service  performed 
by  my  friend  Captain  Paulding  while  in  command  of 
the  frigate  St.  Lawrence.  I  ordered  him  in  command 
of  that  fine  new  frigate  to  make  an  independent  cruise. 
Passing  through  the  British  Channel,  he  went  to  the 
North  Sea,  remained  for  some  time  at  Bremerhaven, 
the  port  of  Bremen,  and  by  the  presence  of  his  ship, 
and  his  discreet  and  judicious  conduct,  added  to  the 
national  character,  and  gave  protection  to  American 
commerce  in  the  north  of  Europe.  No  ship  of  war  had 
ever  before  exhibited  our  flag  in  the  Weser,  and  for 
more  than  thirty  years  an  American  ship  of  war  had 
not  visited  the  North  Sea.  Besides  the  troubles  in 
regard  to  Holstein  and  Schleswig  a  revolutionary  spirit 
was  exhibited  throughout  Germany  and  after  a  noble 
struggle  for  free  institutions  it  went  out  with  the 
Hungarian  subjection.  This  condition  of  things  made 
the  presence  of  an  American  man-of-war  necessary  in 
that  quarter.  The  arrival  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was 
hailed  with  rapturous  delight  and  the  ship  was  crowded 
with  eager  visitors  of  the  highest  rank.  This  involved 
Captain  Paulding  in  heavy  expenditures,  which  he 
could  not  avoid  without  a  niggardly  imputation 
injurious  to  the  national  character.  With  private 
individuals  he  might  have  acted  otherwise,  but  with 
crowned  heads  and  public  authorities  he  could  not 
withhold  those  civilities  which  were  expected."  .  .  . 


CHAPTER  VII 

COMMAND   OF  THE   NAVY   YARD 

IN  1851  Paulding  was  given  the  command 
of  the  Navy  Yard  at  Washington,  and  for 
two  and  a  half  years  remained  there  with 
his  family  quartered  in  the  old  house  whera 
it  was  said  the  shade  of  Admiral  Tingey 
with  his  long  queue  still  wandered  at  night. 
Washington  was  then  a  very  different  place 
from  the  city  as  we  now  know  it.  The  only 
public  communication  with  the  Yard  was 
by  means  of  two  omnibuses,  which  rumbled 
along  through  the  dusty  streets  to  the  foot 
of  Capitol  Hill  near  the  public  gardens. 
One  was  called,  in  compliment  to  the  Com 
mandant  of  the  Yard,  the  "  Commodore 
Paulding,"  the  other  after  the  Commandant 
of  the  Marine  Barracks,  the  "  General  Hen 
derson."  Commodore  Ballard,  who  had  just 
died  in  command  of  the  Yard,  had  pur 
chased  a  fine  span  of  horses  and  a  carriage, 
and  whether  he  could  afford  it  or  not,  the 
new  Commandant  was  made  to  feel  that,  in 

134 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        135 

kindness  to  the  widow  of  a  brother  officer, 
he  should  purchase  the  whole  outfit.  As 
the  horses  were  very  delicate  and  the  colored 
coachmen  universally  employed  were  not 
always  reliable,  many  amusing,  not  to  say 
annoying,  incidents  resulted  from  the  posses 
sion  of  the  State  carriage.  On  one  occasion 
when  the  Commodore  in  uniform  had  made 
a  formal  call  with  his  wife  on  some  dignitary, 
he  found  his  young  coachman  asleep  on  the 
box,  and,  waking  him,  directed  him  to  drive 
home,  but  when  half-way  there  he  saw  from 
the  window  Tom  was  swaying  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  evidently  too  drunk  to 
recover  himself.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
but,  uniformed  as  he  was,  the  Commodore 
had  to  mount  the  box  and  drive  to  a  place 
where  a  substitute  could  be  found. 

At  that  tune  Washington  was  full  of 
colored  people,  mainly  slaves,  who  were 
hired  out  by  their  masters,  who  in  some 
instances  reaped  a  good  harvest  from  their 
labors.  Two  are  especially  present  to  my 
recollection.  One  was  employed  by  a 
marine  officer  living  next  door  to  us.  Nancy 
was  one  of  the  mischievous  kind,  delighting 
hi  pranks.  I  remember  her  mistress  telling 
us  that  in  going  home  one  night  she  found 
Nancy  sitting  in  a  rocking-chair,  balancing 


136  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

on  her  head  the  tea  tray,  on  which  were 
her  best  cups  and  saucers.  Her  dexterity 
deserved  a  better  reward  than  the  lashing 
she  received  from  a  horsewhip  when  her 
master  heard  of  it. 

Another  was  our  cook,  a  young  woman 
with  a  boy  four  or  five  years  old,  and 
beautifully  trained  by  his  mother  to  obe 
dience  and  industry.  At  her  master's  death 
she  had  been  purchased  by  her  brother-in- 
law,  a  hideous  deformed  black  man,  who  in 
hiring  her  to  work  for  others  promised  her 
that  all  the  money  she  brought  him  should 
pay  for  her  freedom,  but  after  a  time  he  took 
her  boy  from  her,  treated  him  cruelly,  and 
told  her  she  was  no  nearer  freedom  than 
when  he  bought  her.  These,  our  first 
glimpses  of  what  slavery  meant,  were  a  sad 
revelation  of  what  it  might  be  where  it  was 
the  universal  condition  of  the  negro. 

Franklin  Pierce  had  taken  the  reins  of 
office  in  March  of  the  previous  year  (1853), 
and  had  evidently  assumed  the  responsi 
bilities  with  the  determination  to  reconcile 
all  parties  and  hold  the  Union  in  peace.  A 
native  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  he  had 
heard  and  seen  enough  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Abolitionists  to  realize  their  powerful  influ 
ence,  but  an  astute  lawyer  and  politician 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        137 

and  a  whole-hearted  Democrat,  throughout 
his  administration  he  acted  on  the  principle 
that  as  slavery  was  not  prohibited  by  the 
Constitution,  but  was  endorsed  by  and  em 
bedded  in  it,  his  policy  should  be  to  endorse 
nothing  that  could  antagonize  the  South  or 
give  cause  for  sectional  rupture. 

Kansas,  one  of  the  Western  States,  geo 
graphically  the  center  of  our  Union,  was 
originally  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase, 
and  in  1820  a  bill  had  passed  Congress, 
called  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which 
prohibited  slavery  north  of  30°  36'  latitude. 
In  1851  Mr.  Douglas,  chairman  of  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Territories,  introduced 
a  bill  organizing  Kansas  and  Nebraska  into 
territories  permitting  slavery  therein.  The 
bill  was  passed,  and  through  the  remainder 
of  Mr.  Pierce's  administration  and  during 
the  following  one,  a  storm  center  was  formed 
there  that  later  on  joined  the  factional  dis 
turbances  working  elsewhere. 

In  his  first  message,  President  Pierce 
(1853)  spoke  of  the  repose  that  had  followed 
the  compromise  of  1850  and  said  "that  this 
repose  is  to  suffer  no  shock  during  my  official 
term,  if  I  have  power  to  prevent  it,  those 
who  placed  me  here  may  be  assured." 
Compromise  is  sometimes  necessary;  tern- 


138  LIFE  OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

porizing  with  wrong  is  apt  to  be  disastrous. 
Mr.  Pierce  opposed  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia.  He  maintained 
the  constitutionality  of  slavery  and  the  Fugi 
tive  Slave  law,  denounced  slavery  agitations 
and  hoped  "that  no  sectional  or  ambitious 
or  fanatical  agitations  threaten  the  dura 
bility  of  our  institutions  or  obscure  the 
light  of  our  prosperity."  Such  was  the  feel 
ing  in  the  atmosphere  during  the  period  of 
Hiram  Paulding's  residence  in  Washington. 
The  "Kansas  and  Nebraska  bill"  was  the 
stirring  episode  of  one  spring,  but  at  the 
Navy  Yard  we  only  heard  echoes  of  what 
was  being  enacted. 

The  official  circle  there  was  a  pleasant 
one,  harmony  prevailing  among  all.  The 
Captain  of  the  Yard,  a  Virginia  gentleman, 
always  took  a  gloomy  outlook  of  the  con 
dition  of  the  country,  and  we  well  knew 
that  when  the  quarter-deck  walk  to  and  fro 
on  the  piazza  began,  the  Captain  was  proph 
esying  war  and  trouble,  while  with  cheerful 
optimism  the  Commandant  tried  to  reas 
sure  him.  I  can  hear  him  now,  as  he  would 
say  good-night,  turn  to  my  father  with 
"Depend  upon  it,  sir,  it's  Gospel  truth, 
I'm  sure  of  it.  Virginia  will  go  out"  if  such 
and  such  things  occur.  And  from  the 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        139 

expression  of  deep  concern  on  my  father's 
face  I  knew  he  had  grave  forebodings  of 
what  was  to  come. 

One  evening  Mrs.  Pierce,  who  had  taken 
a  great  fancy  to  the  writer's  mother,  sent  a 
message  begging  she  would  come  with  my 
father  when  he  came  that  evening  to  see  the 
President.  I  was  a  schoolgirl,  but  was 
pleased  when  my  mother  asked  me  to  go 
with  them,  as  a  visit  to  the  White  House 
and  an  interview  with  the  President  and 
Mrs.  Pierce  was  not  to  be  declined.  Mrs. 
Pierce  was  in  deep  mourning,  having  recently 
lost  her  last  son  in  a  railroad  accident. 
Mother,  too,  was  in  deep  mourning  for  her 
father.  Mrs.  Pierce  seemed  very  sad,  but 
her  greeting  was  most  kind  and  gracious. 
In  contrast  to  them  I  noticed  a  lady  who 
at  once  captivated  us  by  her  brightness,  her 
youth,  and  her  charming  personality.  She 
and  a  girl  of  my  age,  who  was  introduced  as 
her  sister,  were  beautifully  dressed;  and  I 
scarcely  noticed  a  man  of  keen  strong  fea 
tures  talking  with  the  President  when  some 
one  addressed  him  as  "Mr.  Davis,"  and  I 
knew  this  must  be  the  Secretary  of  War, 
with  his  charming  wife  and  her  sister.  Long 
after,  when  I  realized  the  cleverness  of 
Jefferson  Davis,  Secretary  of  War,  in  having 


140  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

managed  so  well  in  the  equipment  of  the 
Southern  fortifications,  and  when  I  knew 
the  part  he  was  to  play  in  the  great  contro 
versy,  I  remembered  that  evening  and  felt 
a  pang  for  the  charming  lady  who  shared 
his  fortunes. 

Central  America  had  been  a  place  of 
great  interest  to  England,  which  at  one  time 
established  a  protectorate  over  the  Mos 
quito  Coast.  A  clever  man  from  Nashville, 
Tennessee,  William  Walker,  a  student  of 
law,  of  medicine,  of  the  art  of  war,  led 
several  filibustering  expeditions  to  places 
outside  our  territory.  He  was  unsuccess 
ful  in  Mexico,  was  arrested  for  violating 
neutrality  laws,  but  in  1855  was  induced 
by  American  speculators  in  Nicaragua  to 
interfere  in  the  intestine  troubles  in  that 
country,  ostensibly  in  aid  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  there.  For  a  year  he  carried  on 
a  predatory  warfare  with  varying  success, 
until  in  '56,  after  many  high-handed  acts,  he 
caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  President 
of  Nicaragua,  annulled  the  existing  prohi 
bition  of  slavery,  and  sent  a  minister  to 
Washington  in  1856,  who  was  recognized  by 
President  Pierce.  His  arbitrary  acts  soon 
provoked  insurrection  and  he  was  defeated 
and  in  May,  '57,  with  sixteen  officers,  sur- 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        141 

rendered  to  Captain  Charles  Davis,  U.  S.  N., 
who  sent  him  to  Panama.  Thence  he  went 
to  New  Orleans  and  was  put  under  bonds 
there  to  keep  the  peace,  hi  which,  however,  he 
failed,  for  in  November  again  he  returned  to 
Nicaragua,  where  we  shall  hear  of  him  later. 

During  the  whole  of  Mr.  Pierce's  admin 
istration  no  changes  took  place  in  the  Cabi 
net.  A  man  of  undoubted  integrity  and 
charming  courtesy,  his  urbanity  attracted 
people  to  him,  while  his  keen  intellect, 
wonderful  powers  of  oratory,  and  intuitive 
knowledge  of  human  nature  held  those  he 
had  won.  Not  a  slave  owner  himself,  he 
was  profoundly  imbued  with  the  conviction 
that  the  Constitution  protected  the  slave 
holders  in  their  rights,  and  to  the  last  he 
adhered  firmly  to  that  conviction,  though 
when  the  disunionists  began  civil  war  by 
firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  he  addressed  a  mass 
meeting  conjuring  the  people  to  sustain  the 
Government  against  the  Southern  Con 
federacy. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  Paulding  was 
detached  from  the  Navy  Yard,  and  on  the 
30th  of  the  same  month  was  ordered  to 
assume  command  of  the  Home  Squadron, 
reporting  to  the  Commandant  of  the  Navy 
Yard,  Norfolk,  and  there  taking  the  sailing 


142  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

frigate  Potomac  as  his  flag-ship.  Cap 
tain  Powell,  who  had  been  with  him  at  tr.  e 
Washington  Yard,  was  in  command  of  the 
ship.  The  Cyane,  Falmouth,  Fulton,  Sara 
toga,  and  other  ships  were  at  various  times 
attached  to  the  squadron,  whose  cruise  was 
to  extend  from  the  West  India  Islands  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  to  the  coast  of 
Newfoundland,  and  eastward  as  far  as  the 
Azores. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  the  Potomac 
visited  the  Azores,  but  much  inconvenience 
was  sustained  by  the  leaking  condition  of  the 
ship,  which  gave  serious  trouble.  Early  in 
November  they  returned  to  New  York,  the 
ship  was  put  in  dry  dock  and  caulked  and 
repaired,  and  by  the  last  of  November  they 
sailed  for  the  South. 

After  a  passage  of  nearly  a  month,  during 
which  time  they  had  to  stop  at  "  Nicola 
Mole"  for  water,  and  were  much  annoyed 
by  serious  leaks  in  the  ship,  notwithstand 
ing  the  time  that  had  been  consumed  in 
caulking  it  while  in  dry  dock  in  New  York, 
they  arrived  at  San  Juan,  one  of  the  objec 
tive  points  of  the  cruise,  as  it  was  the  point 
where  the  passengers  from  the  Pacific 
arrived  and  whence  the  steamers  sailed  for 
New  York.  Within  the  five  or  six  so- 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        143 

called  republics  of  the  Isthmus,  Granada, 
Nicaragua,  San  Salvador,  Costa  Rica,  and 
Honduras,  constant  confusion  prevailed. 
A  quotation  from  the  Commodore's  journal 
illustrates  the  conditions. 

SAN  JUAN  DEL  NORTE, 

December  22d,  1855. 

"We  found  anchored  here  the  English  twelve-gun 
brig  Espiegk,  Commander  Lambert.  .  .  .  Captain 
Lambert  informed  me  that  when  he  came  he  had  twenty 
men  in  their  hammocks  with  fever,  but  after  a  stay 
of  two  months  there  were  only  three  cases  of  slight 
indisposition."  .  .  .  "On  the  23d  visited  by  Captain 
Lambert,  Commercial  Agent  Cottrell,  and  Colonel 
Kinney  with  his  secretary.  Mr.  Hutchins,  representing 
the  Transit  Company,1  breakfasted  with  me  and  I 
visited  their  buildings.  In  the  afternoon  the  surgeon, 
Dillard,  left  for  Granada  bearing  a  despatch  from  me  to 
His  Excellency,  J.  H.  Wheeler,  and  as  there  was  thought 
to  be  danger  from  parties  on  the  river,  Captain  Powell 
accompanied  him  with  boat  and  crew  to  the  Rapids. 
Mr.  Hutchins  told  me  he  was  going  to  Granada  and 
would  see  Walker  when  he  felt  the  companies'  boats 
would  be  secure  against  the  parties  that  had  threatened 
their  destruction  commanded  by  Young  Rivera,  show 
ing  conclusively  that  a  good  understanding  existed 
between  Walker  and  the  Company,  although  Walker 
had  more  than  once  seized  their  boats  for  his  military 
purposes  and  taken  by  violence,  as  Mr.  Hutchins 

1  An  American  Company  attending  to  the  transfer  of 
passengers  and  freight  to  the  Panama  R.  R.  &  Steamship 
Line,  thence  to  San  Francisco. 


144  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

informed  me,  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  consul, 
or  rather  commercial  agent,  Mr.  Cottrell,  appeared 
to  have  little  information  and  seemed  fearful  lest  what 
he  communicated  or  the  opinions  he  expressed  should 
be  repeated  to  his  disadvantage.  He  informed  ma  he 
had  certain  papers  of  some  importance  that  he  WDuld 
exhibit  for  my  perusal,  and  which  he  had  communicited 
to  the  State  Department.  I  thought,  although  he  did 
not  say  so,  that  his  impression  was  that  the  Company 
had  favored  Walker's  enterprise,  and  it  is  already 
clearly  my  opinion  that  without  the  facilities  aftVded 
by  means  of  their  boats  and  money  Walker  would  have 
been,  to  say  the  least,  less  likely  to  succeed.  Mr. 
Cottrell  told  me  that  a  Mr.  Martin,  governor  of  Grey- 
town  (that  we  call  San  Juan),  considered  himself  under 
the  Protectorate  of  Great  Britain,  so  Mr.  Cottrell  did 
not  consider  him  an  American  citizen. 

"  Grey  town  is  a  miserable  village,  on  the  south  shore 
of  the  harbor,  consisting  of  about  50  to  100  dwellings 
in  all  —  frame  and  thatch  houses  and  huts  with  none 
of  considerable  pretension.  Near  the  center  is  a  small 
square  where  what  is  considered  the  Mosquito  or  Pro 
tectorate  flag  is  hoisted  in  the  morning  and  hauled 
down  in  the  evening.  The  flag  consists  of  stripes  of 
blue  and  white  for  the  fly  and  the  cross  of  the  Union 
Jack  for  the  union.  It  is  attended  by  a  negro,  but  it 
is  not  known  by  whom  he  is  paid.  The  supposition  is, 
of  course,  by  an  employe  of  the  British  Government. 
A  few  years  since,  it  is  said,  a  guard  of  some  ten  negroes 
from  Jamaica  with  their  guard-house,  arms,  etc.,  a 
piece  or  two  of  brass  ordnance  were  there  to  look  out 
for  the  flag  and  Protectorate.  San  Juan  is  destined 
to  be  an  important  place  at  no  distant  time,  and  if 
the  "Company"  does  not  find  a  master  in  some  Govern- 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        145 

ment  they  will  soon  control  the  country.  The  English 
keep  one  or  more  men-of-war  in  this  harbor  constantly, 
showing  that  they  feel  a  good  deal  of  interest  in  the 
affairs  of  their  Mosquito  friend  and  his  domain.  The 
British  Consul  is  said  to  be  at  Bluefields,  where  His 
Mosquito  Majesty  resides  and  where  revenues  from 
the  Corn  Islands  and  certain  plantations  of  some  kind 
are  appropriated,  perhaps  for  the  expense  and  honor  of 
the  flag  that  flies  at  Greytown.  Colonel  Kinney  and 
Walker  are  not  friends  and  it  is  said  that  Walker  has 
declared  he  would  hang  him  if  he  came  to  Granada. 

"The  whole  country  for  many  miles,  as  far  as  I  can 
learn,  is  a  swamp  or  a  dense  unpenetrable  forest  which 
appears  forbidding  to  the  very  shores,  and  the  popula 
tion,  small  as  it  is,  depend  for  supply  on  distant  trans 
portation."  .  .  . 

"At  this  time  Walker  was  with  his  force  at  Virgin 
Bay,  which  is  on  Lake  Nicaragua,  where  the  passengers 
debark  for  the  Pacific.  The  opposing  forces  of  Nicara 
gua  under  General  Corral  were  about  twelve  miles  off. 
The  steamer's  boat  came  to  the  shore  for  some  necessary 
purpose  and  one  of  Walker's  officers  with  twelve  men 
seized  her,  went  on  board  the  steamer,  and  took  pos 
session  of  her.  Then  the  forces  of  Walker  were  put  on 
board  and  in  a  few  hours  transported  to  Granada,  where 
there  was  no  opposing  force  and  Walker  took  possession 
of  the  place.  He  then  sent  to  Corral,  and  it  was 
arranged  for  a  surrender  by  Corral.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  popularity  and  Walker  offered  him  the  presidency, 
which  he  refused,  and  was  then  told  to  name  his  man. 
He  named  the  present  incumbent,  Don  — ,  and  Corral 
accepted  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War.  It  is  said  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  Don  —  instructing  him  to  advance  and 
in  what  manner  to  assault  Walker.  Walker  had  him 


146  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

tried  by  court  martial  and  condemned.  The  President 
he  named  signed  the  death  warrant  and  Corral  -vas 
shot  in  twenty-four  hours.  The  whole  population  pati- 
tioned  for  a  commutation  of  his  sentence  to  banish 
ment,  and  one  of  two  orphan  daughters  presented  the 
petition,  which  did  not  change  Walker's  purpose.  8he 
became  a  lunatic." 

DECEMBER  24th. 

"I  wrote  a  letter  for  Mr.  Cottrell,  commercial  agent, 
and  for  Mr.  Hutchins,  acting  agent  for  the  Transit  Co., 
calling  for  information  in  regard  to  the  seizure  of  the 
steamers  and  the  destruction  of  passengers,  etc." 

DECEMBER  28th. 

"In  the  steamer  Captain  Hornsby,  second  to  Gene  ral 
Walker,  came  and  sent  to  say  he  would  "like  to  wait 
upon  me  unofficially."  I  replied  that  I  would  receive 
him,  and  accordingly  he  came  on  board.  He  wa^  a 
tall  man  of  six  feet  two  or  three  inches,  wiry  and 
muscular,  with  a  hardy  and  determined  look,  as  if  equal 
to  the  task  his  manner  of  life  called  for,  with  beard 
covering  his  face.  He  said,  after  I  had  given  him  a 
friendly  greeting,  that  he  had  come  on  the  part  of  the 
General  to  invite  me  to  Granada,  which,  with  a  civil 
message  to  the  General,  I  declined.  He  remained  with 
me  an  hour  or  more,  recounting  some  of  their  extraor 
dinary  adventures,  informed  me  that  Walker  had 
about  four  hundred  men,  that  he  had  the  means  of 
information  of  all  that  transpired  throughout  the 
country,  that  everything  was  quiet  and  they  had  no 
doubt  of  being  able  to  sustain  themselves  in  Nicaragua, 
that  the  General  was  at  work  developing  the  resources 
of  the  mines  and  other  interests  of  the  country,  that, 
without  equal  exactions  to  the  parties  that  had  preceded 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        147 

them,  they  had  ample  means  for  their  wants.  He 
spoke  of  Greytown  and  indicated  a  purpose  of  taking 
it  and  hauling  down  the  Mosquito  flag,  making 
some  allusion  to  the  British  brigs  of  war  to  which  he 
pointed. 

"  I  advised  him  not  to  land  in  San  Juan,  knowing 
there  was  no  friendship  between  him  and  Kinney,  who 
has  a  few  followers  with  him,  and  apprehensive  of  some 
scene  of  violence.  I  also  told  him  that  the  time  had 
not  arrived  for  them  to  resist  the  British  Protectorate 
of  the  Mosquito  territory.  In  the  evening  he  left. 
Our  consul,  Mr.  Cottrell,  came  on  board  while  he  was 
here  and  the  next  morning  I  learned  from  Captain 
Ogle  of  the  Arab  that  he  knew  I  had  had  a  visitor 
and  an  invitation  to  visit  Walker." 

During  the  week  following,  several  visit 
ors  to  the  ship  gave  conflicting  accounts 
of  the  conditions  prevailing,  all  seeming 
anxious  to  stand  well  with  the  Comman 
dant  of  the  fleet,  who  had  difficulty  in  per 
suading  some  of  the  officials  to  observe 
discretion  in  making  ceremonious  visits  on 
board  the  British  vessels,  etiquette  being  in 
official  life  next  in  importance  to  principle. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1856,  the  fleet 
was  again  at  sea  on  the  way  to  Havana, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  twentieth,  and  a 
series  of  visits  of  ceremony  followed,  the 
understanding  being  that  always  the  en 
tente  cordiak  was  to  be  cultivated  with  all 


148  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

foreigners  with  whom  our  men-of-war  carr  e 
in  contact. 

I  quote  again  from  the  journal. 

MONDAY,  JANUARY  21st, 

HAVANA. 

"Pleasant  weather.  The  Captain  of  the  port,  a 
boat  from  the  Admiral's  ship,  and  the  two  Captains  of 
the  French  brigs  visited  the  ship.  In  the  morning  an 
officer,  Colonel  Lanesta,  who  spoke  English  very  well, 
came  on  board  from  the  Captain- general  to  offer  any 
service,  inviting  the  officers  to  a  soiree  on  Monday 
evening,  and  saying  the  Captain- general  had  directed 
him  to  say  that  the  officers  could  go  where  they  pleasod 
about  the  island,  and  that  he  would  at  any  time,  when 
informed,  send  an  escort  or  some  officer  who  would 
make  an  excursion  pleasant  to  them.  At  9.20  Mr. 
Robertson,  our  acting  consul,  came  on  board  and  was 
saluted  by  seven  guns.  At  11.45  we  hoisted  the 
Spanish  flag  and  saluted  with  twenty-one  guns,  and  at 
12  M.  hoisted  the  Spanish  flag,  let  fall  the  foretopsail, 
and  saluted  the  Admiral  with  thirteen  guns.  Both 
salutes  were  returned,  gun  for  gun." 

JANUARY  22d. 

"At  1  P.M.,  accompanied  by  the  Captain,  First 
Lieutenant,  Fleet  Surgeon,  Captain  of  Marines,  Mr. 
Pleasants,  and  Midshipman  Lea,  went  on  shore,  and,  ac 
companied  by  the  Consul,  called  on  the  Captain- general. 
We  found  him  affable  and  friendly,  warning  me  of  our 
men's  exposure  to  disease,  saying  the  fever  had  been 
very  fatal  until  the  end  of  December  and  still  lingered 
in  the  city.  The  Admiral  told  me  the  same  thing, 
with  the  addition  that  the  cholera  existed  to  some 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        149 

extent,  and  both  he  and  the  Captain- general  giving 
me  certain  sanitary  precautions.  The  Captain-general 
inquired  if  there  were  anything  in  the  city  that  I  desired 
to  see,  offering  me  his  carriage  and  an  escort  at  any 
time,  and  saying  many  civil  things,  and  repeated  the 
invitation  his  aide  had  given  in  the  morning  to  the 
soiree.  The  Admiral  was  very  communicative,  spoke 
English  very  well,  said  many  civil  things  about  our 
country  and  the  advantage  to  Spain  of  having  a 
friendly  alliance  with  the  United  States.  He  offered 
whatever  we  might  want  from  the  arsenal  and  in  any 
way  the  assistance  he  could  render,  and  seemed  in 
every  way  a  charming  old  gentleman. 

In  the  evening  the  Captain  and  half  a  dozen  officers 
landed  to  attend  the  Captain-general's  soiree.  Having 
found  the  card  of  Mr.  Crawford,  the  English  consul, 
at  our  Consul's  office,  I  went  to  his  office  with  the 
officers  and  called  upon  him,  and  found  in  him  an  old 
acquaintance  I  had  met  some  sixteen  years  ago  in 
Tampico." 

WEDNESDAY,  JANUARY  23d. 

"Cloudy  and  a  cold  wind  from  the  north.  The 
General  of  Marines  came  on  board  with  captains  of 
the  Spanish  ships  in  port.  He  went  all  over  the  ship 
and  seemed  to  be  much  pleased  with  everything.  He 
left  after  a  visit  of  more  than  an  hour,  expressing  his 
gratification  with  the  cordial  manner  in  which  he 
had  been  received.  We  saluted  him  at  parting. 
Two  French  twenty-gun  brigs,  La  Perouse,  Commander 
Geofrey,  and  another,  Leps,  each  saluted  us  with 
thirteen  guns,  which  was  returned  from  our  ship. 
The  Admiral's  ship  returned  our  salute  to  the  Admiral. 
A  number  of  our  countrymen  and  ladies  came  on  board 
and  spent  an  hour  or  two." 


150  LIFE   OF   HIRAM   PAULDING 

JANUARY  24th. 

"On  the  evening  previous  the  Captain  and  my 
secretary  received  an  invitation  to  dine  with  the  Cap 
tain-general,  which  by  my  advice  they  accepted  this 
morning  for  this  afternoon.  At  meridian  I  received 
a  note  of  invitation  dated  on  the  22d  to  dine  with  the 
Captain-general  to-day  at  6  P.M.  The  Fleet  Surgecn 
also  got  an  invitation.  In  view  of  the  lateness  of  the 
hour  at  which  it  was  received,  and  the  carelessness  th;tt 
had  been  manifested  by  a  high  official  functionary 
of  a  people  fastidious  in  their  ceremonials,  I  deemed  it 
due  to  my  public  station  politely  to  decline.  In  doing 
so  I  named  the  importance  of  preparing  despatch  3s 
for  the  steamer  of  the  next  morning,  and  the  fact  th  it 
I  had  just  then  (at  meridian)  received  the  note  of 
invitation.  I  sent  my  note  to  the  palace  by  an  officsr 
and  in  an  hour  afterward  Colonel  Lannete,  aide  to  the 
Captain-general,  came  to  explain  on  the  part  of  His 
Excellency  and  ask  when  it  would  be  convenient  for 
me  to  dine  with  him,  requesting  that  I  would  name  a 
day.  I  acknowledged  to  the  Colonel  that  I  was  satisfied 
a  mistake  had  been  made  and  regretted  I  could  not 
name  a  day  to  dine  with  the  Governor  as  I  was  on  the 
eve  of  going  to  sea. 

"  On  the  following  morning,  accompanied  by  the  First 
Lieutenant  of  the  ship,  I  called  at  the  palace  and  had 
a  pleasant  interview  with  the  Captain-general.  He 
spoke  of  a  report  some  time  since  received  of  an  expedi 
tion  fitting  by  the  exiles  from  Cuba,  in  New  York,  to 
land  at  San  Juan  del  Norte  and  thence  to  invade  Cuba, 
and  agreed  with  me  in  the  absurdity  of  this  as  all  other 
reports  of  the  kind,  and  assented  to  my  assurance  of 
the  good  faith  of  my  Government.  Before  I  left  he 
spoke  of  the  Battalion  of  Chasseurs  and  of  the  Casa- 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD         151 

dores  stationed  at  the  fortress  on  the  east  side  of  the 
harbor,  said  they  were  perfect  in  their  drill,  and  asked 
if  I  would  not  like  to  witness  their  evolutions.  I 
replied  in  the  affirmative  and  he  said  Colonel  Lannete 
should  go  with  me  at  4  P.M.  I  inquired  if  I  should 
send  a  boat  for  him  and  he  said  "No,"  the  Colonel 
would  come  for  me.  Accordingly  at  4  P.M.  the  Colonel 
came  alongside  the  ship  in  the  Captain- general's  barge, 
with  crimson  cushions  and  curtains,  and  after  spending 
a  short  tune  with  me  on  board  we  went  to  the  Cabanas 
Fort. 

"The  civil  and  military  governor,  General  Esche- 
veria,  accompanied  by  Captain  Powell  and  a  number 
of  boats,  joined  in  the  procession,  and  we  landed  at 
Cabanas.  There  from  the  water  we  ascended  a  very 
steep,  wide,  well  paved  road  for  a  hundred  feet  or  more 
before  we  entered  the  plateau  of  the  Fort.  As  we  came 
to  the  Fort,  which  was  on  every  side  built  on  a  precipitous 
hill,  the  walls  were  some  thirty  or  forty  feet  high  and 
inaccessible  by  any  ordinary  means,  we  passed  along 
between  the  walls  of  two  fortresses  over  a  wide  road 
until  we  came  to  the  gate  where  we  were  admitted,  and 
the  Governor  of  Cabanas,  a  tall  old  gentleman  of  sixty, 
presented  himself.  He  conducted  us  along  the  Fort 
and  through  gates,  guards  being  everywhere  turned 
out  to  receive  me,  until  at  last  we  emerged  upon  the 
open  plain  that  looks  out  upon  the  sea.  Here  we  found 
the  battalions  paraded  and  exercising,  with  a  number 
of  spectators.  The  battalions  of  Casadores  went 
through  many  evolutions,  among  others  the  forma 
tion  in  line  of  battle,  the  guerilla  formation,  the 
hollow  square  for  resisting  cavalry,  and  others, 
acquitting  themselves  in  a  highly  creditable  manner, 
continuing  until  at  last  the  General  asked  if  I 


152  LIFE  OF    HIRAM   PAULDING 

would  have  them  dismissed,  impressing  upon  mo 
that  the  exhibition  was  for  me.  When  I  answerc  1 
in  the  affirmative,  bugles  sounded  and  the  troops  formed 
in  line  of  march,  and  the  Colonel  in  command  came  an  i 
was  presented  to  me.  I  thanked  and  complimente  1 
him  and  we  passed  on  to  the  other  battalion  near  the 
Morro.  Here  again  we  were  entertained  with  a  display 
of  well  disciplined  troops  who  went  through  their  evolv  - 
tions  in  a  very  perfect  manner,  completely  mimick 
ing  the  art  of  war.  It  was  late  and  I  was  asked  by  the 
General  if  the  battalion  might  be  dismissed.  When 
I  assented  the  muchachos  were  allowed  to  go  to  the  r 
quarters,  where  we  heard  them  afterward  in  joyois 
revelry. 

"Thence  we  were  conducted  to  the  Morro  Castlo, 
where  from  the  battlements  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
ocean,  the  country  around  the  island,  as  well  as  of 
Havana  and  its  defenses.  We  entered  by  a  narrow 
drawbridge  over  a  deep  chasm  and  passed  for  some 
hundreds  of  feet  along  a  narrow  passage  about  three 
feet  wide  arched  overhead  with  very  thick  walls  on 
either  side,  and  through  apertures,  made  at  intervals 
for  the  purpose,  a  faint  light  and  some  air  was  admitted. 
At  the  farthest  extremity  of  this  an  iron-grated  door 
gave  entrance  to  the  dungeons  which  descend  far 
below  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  where  the  light  of  heaven 
never  reaches  and  whose  gloomy  solitude,  which  sickens 
the  heart  with  despair,  is  poisoned  with  a  damp 
unwholesome  atmosphere,  which  together,  and  with 
the  accustomed  privations  of  food  and  clothing  and 
every  human  comfort,  subdues  the  strongest  fortitude 
of  human  nature,  and  life  becomes  intolerable  and  the 
broken  spirit  and  wasted  frame  sighs  for  the  repose  of 
the  great  deliverer,  the  poor  man's  dearest  friend. 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        153 

"  I  sighed  and  almost  shuddered  as  we  passed  that 
bridge  and  that  narrow  gloomy  passage,  made  more  so 
by  the  flickering  light  of  a  small  lantern,  to  think  how 
many  of  God's  creatures  —  and  many  perhaps  with 
only  the  suspicion  of  crime  or  political  offense  —  had 
taken  this  sad  and  loathsome  way  to  eternity.  I  had 
known  some  who  by  chance  or  accident  had  emerged 
from  this  infamous  and  abominable  place  of  outrage 
upon  humanity,  and  the  graphic  descriptions  they 
had  given  me  were  so  much  like  what  one  might  con 
ceive  of  pandemonium  that  tune  has  done  nothing 
to  efface  it  from  my  mind.  With  all  the  gentle  attri 
butes  of  our  nature  that  I  have  witnessed  in  the  Spanish 
race,  and  in  which  I  have  largely  participated,  the 
horror  of  a  prison  like  this  has  irresistibly  associated 
itself  in  my  mind  as  a  part  of  the  national  character, 
and,  independent  of  my  social  sympathies,  I  have  turned 
with  horror  and  disgust  from  the  stain  and  stigma  of 
such  brutality.  How  differently  were  we  now  cir 
cumstanced  and  the  picture  was  presented  to  my  mind : 
the  contrast  to  the  poor  creatures  who  had  passed  on 
this  narrow  way  never  again  to  meet  the  sympathy  of 
a  kindred  soul,  never  again  to  enjoy  any  of  the  rights 
of  humanity,  never  to  hear  the  voice  of  affection  or 
friendship,  to  see  the  light  of  heaven  or  to  inhale  a 
respiration  unpolluted  with  the  malaria  of  death. 
But  I  was  attended  by  the  military  and  civil  governor 
of  Havana,  General  Escheveria,  an  accomplished  and 
elegant  gentleman,  than  whom  few  are  more  highly 
favored  by  external  nature,  and  Colonel  Lannete,  a 
gentleman  of  good  manners  and  social,  and  with  his 
other  accomplishments  speaking  the  English  language 
fluently. 

"  The  garrisons  at  the  Morro  and  Cabanas  are  fur- 


154  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

nished  with  water  by  means  of  cisterns  which  wero 
pointed  out  to  us.  We  passed  between  the  dormitoria.i 
which,  we  were  told,  were  bomb-proof  and  which  seemed 
spacious,  airy,  and  comfortable.  The  soldiers  were  a:; 
their  suppers  or  thrumming  an  air  of  their  native  land. 
Their  term  of  service  is  limited  here  to  six  years,  a  Ion;; 
enough  exile,  but  important  to  the  Government,  nou 
only  on  account  of  the  expense  of  transportation,  but 
also  because  when  once  acclimated  and  thus  protected 
from  the  dreadful  disease  of  the  climate  they  are  mor3 
efficient  and  less  expensive  as  soldiers.  There  was 
scarcely  an  old  mustache  among  the  battalions  thab 
displayed  their  skill  in  tactics.  The  age  ranged  from 
18  to  25.  They  were  fine-looking  men.  I  was  pai- 
ticularly  satisfied  with  their  uniform,  which  in  all 
respects  is  adapted  to  the  climate.  The  officers  as  well 
as  men  wore  straw  hats  of  panama  which  had  mod 
erately  broad  brims.  Then  the  coat  and  trousers  were 
of  a  dark  mottled  cotton  stuff.  Around  the  ankle  and 
foot  a  leather  strap  was  buckled  to  confine  the  shoe, 
securing  a  short  legging,  so  that  with  the  exception  of 
the  belt  and  musket,  there  was  no  appearance  of  mili 
tary  character.  The  officers  are  armed  with  revolver 
pistols  and  the  men  with  Minie  rifles.  They  have 
twenty  thousand  regular  troops  at  Havana,  besides  a 
large  body  of  militia  enrolled. 

"  From  the  ramparts  of  the  Morro  we  ascended  102 
marble  steps  to  the  lantern  of  the  lighthouse,  a  serious 
undertaking  for  those  who  had  wandered  so  long  over 
the  solid  mass  of  rocks  that  form  the  strata  and  spread 
out  in  every  direction  from  the  forts  to  the  sea.  When 
we  descended  from  the  light  we  were  greeted  on  the  plat 
form  by  all  the  officers  of  the  battalion,  who  came  thus 
to  do  us  the  honor  of  a  compliment.  Being  presented 


COMMAND  OF  THE  NAVY  YARD        155 

to  them  all  by  the  General,  I  expressed  my  gratification 
with  the  perfect  discipline  of  their  men  and  the  satis 
faction  it  gave  me  thus  to  meet  them  personally. 

"  Our  boats  had  been  ordered  to  the  foot  of  the  Morro, 
and  instead  of  crossing  the  narrow  bridge  we  descended 
by  a  broad  paved  road  to  the  waterside,  the  officers 
all  following  us  to  the  boats.  Arrived  there  I  had  again 
to  address  and  take  leave  of  the  officers  and  then  of 
my  attendants,  the  General  and  Colonel,  and  having 
taken  a  cordial  mutual  leave  we  separated,  and  it  was 
eight  hi  the  evening  when  I  got  on  board.  The  next 
morning  at  7  A.M.  we  got  under  way,  being  towed  out 
by  the  Fulton." 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  old  sailing 
frigate  Potomac  I  make  an  extract  again 
from  the  journal,  as  in  the  management  of 
a  steamer  the  wind  is  not  the  all-important 
agent  of  progress  that  it  must  be  in  a  sailing 
vessel. 

AT  SEA,  JANUARY  28,  FOR  PENSACOLA. 

"  Commences  with  a  northwesterly  wind  and 
squally,  with  ram.  The  weather  continued  squally 
until  night,  and  with  light  rain  most  of  the  day  at 
intervals,  moderate  during  the  night  and  latter  part 
of  the  day,  until  morning  under  reefed  courses  and 
three  reefed  topsails  made  sail. 

"At  meridian  sounded  in  sixty-five  fathoms  on  the 
coast  of  Florida." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH 

IN  October  the  Potomac  was  ordered  north 
and  as  extensive  repairs  were  needed,  tre 
command  was  transferred  to  the  new  aux 
iliary  screw  steamer  W abash,  carrying  forty 
of  the  new  Dahlgren  guns  and  700  men, 
after  which  the  winds  do  not  play  such  an 
important  part  in  the  movements  of  the 
ship.  In  October,  all  being  in  readiness  for 
sea,  Paulding  was  directed  to  go  to  Ports 
mouth,  New  Hampshire,  and  report  his 
arrival  to  President  Pierce,  then  visiting 
his  native  city,  Concord,  New  Hampshire. 

I  quote  from  the  journal:  "The  Presi 
dent  sent  me  word  he  would  be  in  Ports 
mouth  on  the  8th  and  would  embark  with 
a  number  of  his  friends  on  board  the 
W abash  as  soon  afterwards  as  I  would  bs 
prepared  to  receive  him. 

"On  Wednesday  morning  the  President 
arrived  and  with  the  Captain  ( F.  Engle ) 
I  arranged  for  his  coming  the  follow- 
156 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH         157 

ing  day.  Among  those  who  accompanied 
him  were  General  Henderson,  from  Indiana, 
George  Washington,  Mr.  Tilden,  and  Alan- 
son  Tucker,  a  young  gentleman  by  the  name 
of  Hanse,  from  Boston,  Sydney  Webster,  and 
Marshal  Hoover.  The  day  was  bright  and 
clear,  with  scarcely  wind  enough  to  ripple 
the  water.  The  ship  was  as  clean  and  neat 
as  she  could  be  made,  and  with  her  clean 
hammocks  looked  like  a  picture.  As  the 
President  with  his  Union  Jack  approached 
the  ship,  the  men  lay  out  and  spread  them 
selves  on  the  yards,  which  of  itself  was  a 
beautiful  sight,  and  when  I  received  him  on 
the  deck  at  the  gangway,  three  cheers 
greeted  his  welcome  on  board.  At  the  same 
time  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  from  our 
heavy  broadside  commenced  booming  thun 
der,  and  the  Union  Jack  took  its  place  at  the 
mast-head,  while  the  burgee  broad  pennant, 
my  signal  of  office,  came  down,  and  I  saluted 
the  President  with  the  appellation  of 
'Admiral.' 

"After  being  presented  to  the  officers  he 
walked  aft  and  then  on  the  forward  part  of 
the  spar  deck,  seeming  to  be  in  fine  spirits. 
He  expressed  to  me  his  gratification  in  my 
being  on  board  the  ship  as  he  was  to  embark 
in  her.  In  making  my  acknowledgments 


158  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

I  remarked  that  there  were  many  gallant 
officers  that  would  esteem  it  great  good 
fortune  to  be  in  my  place.  He  said,  l  Yes, ' 
but  it  would  not  be  equally  satisfactory  to 
him,  as  in  me  he  found  an  old  friend,  and  i; 
was  thus  much  more  agreeable  to  him.  Ho 
descended  and  I  showed  him  to  his  room, 
where  he  found  Peter,  who  had  prepared  fo : 
his  comforts.  I  had  given  up  my  room  to 
him  and  put  my  bed  in  a  cot.  His  friends 
now  came  on  board,  and  while  they  were 
going  round  the  ship  an  ample  table  was 
spread  with  everything  that  could  be  placed 
upon  it,  and  on  their  return  to  the  cabin 
ample  justice  was  done  to  the  viands,  which 
were  swept  off  without  stint  or  ceremony. 
The  President  mingled  for  a  time  with 
his  friends  and  retired.  Subsequently  the 
company  departed  and  at  about  4  P.M.  we 
hove  the  anchor  up  and  stood  out  to  sea, 
receiving  the  vociferous  applause  of  multi 
tudes  of  people  assembled  on  the  shore. 

"  We  were  seated  at  dinner  as  we  came  to 
the  Isle  of  Shoals,  where,  when  it  was  reported 
we  were  approaching  them,  he  rose  from  an 
unfinished  meal  and  went  to  contemplate 
a  locality  interesting  to  him  from  some  past 
remembrance.  The  engine  performed  well 
and,  as  evening  approached,  the  land  receded 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        159 

from  our  view  and  the  broad  ocean  lay 
before  us  in  the  repose  of  elemental  rest. 
Not  a  cloud  obscured  the  heavens,  the  moon 
shone  brightly  and  with  all  her  splendor, 
dimming  the  stars  with  her  pale  light,  which 
barely  suffered  them  to  twinkle  their  visible 
existence.  The  scene  was  pleasant,  quiet, 
and  calm,  and  the  President  seemed  to 
dwell  with  rapture  on  all  the  influences 
that  surrounded  him.  They  were  in  har 
mony  with  his  own  spirit,  relieved  from  the 
stirring  emotions  which  had  so  recently 
swelled  his  indignant  heart,  and  breathed 
from  his  lips  the  impassioned  eloquence 
prompted  by  the  in  justice  of  his  foes  whom 
he  had  consigned  to  the  scorn  and  contempt 
of  their  fellow  men.  He  was  now  enjoying 
the  quiet  that  he  could  not  have  known 
from  the  commencement  of  his  presidential 
term.  He  conversed  carelessly  and  pleas 
antly  with  all  around  him,  lingering  on  deck 
until  a  late  hour,  contemplating  the  unusual 
scene  with  an  interest  that  could  alone  be 
experienced  by  a  great  mind.  The  ship 
itself,  with  wonderful  power  and  capacity, 
the  seamen  in  the  performance  of  their  ever 
varying  duties,  the  officers  discharging  theirs, 
with  every  moment  some  novelty  to  arrest 
attention,  were  all  calculated  to  amuse  and 


160  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

instruct  the  mind  of  even  a  great  lands 
man. 

"  General  Pierce  was  now  the  first  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  that  had  ever 
during  his  official  term  ventured  so  far  from 
the  capital  and  trusted  his  fortunes  to  the 
uncertainties  of  a  sea  life,  and  it  will  doubt 
less  be  remembered  as  an  interesting  era  *«s 
well  by  the  nation  as  by  the  Navy.  It  is 
certain  that  it  will  be  pleasantly  remembered 
by  all  those  whose  happiness  it  was  to  be 
his  shipmates  on  the  occasion.  He  was 
always  easy  of  access  and  conversed  freely 
and  playfully  with  the  officers,  and  often 
addressed  the  seamen  with  a  pleasant 
word.  Peter,  his  Irish  servant,  was  given 
the  direction  of  things,  and,  as  far  as  it 
suited  his  own  views,  instructed  the  steward 
in  his  duties.  He  did  good  and  faithful 
service.  He  had  been  with  Mr.  Webster 
and  Mr.  Fillmore  and  prided  himself  on  his 
association.  The  former  had  given  him  a 
blue  coat  with  bright  buttons,  and  when 
Peter  got  that  on,  he  might  be  taken  for  a 
well-fed  Irish  nobleman." 

The  days  passed  pleasantly  when  on  the 
17th,  the  W abash  having  arrived  at  Annap 
olis,  the  President  prepared  to  leave  the  ship 
for  Washington.  I  quote  again  from  the 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        161 

journal.  " Everything  being  prepared,  the 
men  nicely  dressed,  and  the  officers  in  full 
uniform,  the  President  ascended  the  '  horse 
block'  to  take  leave  of  the  officers  and  crew 
in  a  short  address.  The  seamen  had  been 
instructed  to  be  silent  until  the  President 
had  concluded  what  he  had  to  say;  a  patting 
of  the  feet  on  the  deck  after  the  first  few 
sentences  was  duly  admonished  and  all  was 
silence.  Again  the  President  proceeded  and 
his  eloquence  touched  the  hearts  of  all 
that  heard  him.  He  was  listened  to 
with  that  deep  emotion  that  swells  the 
heart  as  the  stirring  inspiration  of  a 
gifted  mind  appeals  to  the  higher  sensi 
bilities  of  our  nature.  Every  face  was 
lighted  up  with  an  expression  of  joy,  and 
the  eyes  of  many  were  suffused  with  tears. 
A  feeling  of  respect  for  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  nation  and  a  disposition  to  subordi 
nation  had  suppressed  the  seamen  for  a 
time,  but  the  heart  was  now  too  full  for 
obedience  and  a  loud  hurrah  burst  from 
every  Up,  as  if  it  were  at  the  same  instant. 
The  kindled  fire  flamed  as  the  orator  went 
on,  and  one  continued  peal  of  applause 
followed  the  termination  of  almost  every 
sentence,  until  hi  about  ten  minutes  he  con 
cluded  with  a  farewell,  and  descended  to 


162  LIFE  OF  HIRAM    PAULDING 

the  boat.  The  officers  were  not  less  movad 
than  the  seamen,  nor  less  disposed  to  give 
expression  to  their  admiration  of  eloquence 
and  genius.  As  the  boat  moved  from  tie 
ship,  followed  by  two  others,  the  yards  were 
manned  and  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  was 
fired  when  the  Union  Jack  came  down  and  the 
broad  pennant,  the  emblem  of  the  Com 
modore's  office,  went  to  the  mast-head  again. 
"Myself  and  Captain  Engle,  by  command 
of  the  President,  accompanied  him,  and  after 
a  delay  of  some  hours  at  the  Naval  School 
we  went  in  the  cars  to  Washington.  We 
were  delayed  for  some  time  at  the  Baltimore 
Junction  and  there  heard,  with  evident 
satisfaction  to  all  our  distinguished  party,  the 
result  of  the  election  that  had  just  taken 
place  in  Pennsylvania.  We  also  learned 
that  the  citizens  of  Washington  had  been 
prepared  to  give  the  President  a  handsome 
reception  on  the  preceding  evening.  It  was 
after  seven  when  we  arrived  at  the  Washing 
ton  depot.  There  we  met  an  immense 
crowd  and,  in  passing  through  it,  ascertained 
that  the  citizens  of  Washington  had  united, 
without  distinction  of  party,  to  give  the 
President  a  cordial  reception.  The  Presi 
dent  told  Captain  Engle  and  myself  each 
to  take  an  arm  and  hold  on  to  him. 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        163 

"In  the  rotunda  of  the  depot  we  met 
the  Mayor  and  committee.  The  Mayor 
addressed  the  President  in  a  set  speech,  to 
which  the  President  replied,  when  we  made 
our  way  to  the  carriage  which  was  in  waiting. 
I  was  seated  alongside  the  President,  and 
Captain  Engle  and  the  Mayor  sat  in  front. 
In  the  midst  of  great  cheering  from  the 
crowd  we  rode  slowly  on.  Fires  were  blaz 
ing  along  the  streets  and  at  intervals  we 
found  assemblages  of  people  who  cheered. 
The  President  stood  up  with  his  hat  off,  and 
thus  we  passed  on  a  walk  until  we  arrived 
at  the  presidential  mansion,  the  roar  of 
artillery  being  constant  from  the  time  of 
our  leaving  the  depot.  Around  the  front 
of  the  White  House  was  a  great  assemblage 
of  people  and  a  military  division  called  the 
City  Guard.  The  Colonel  addressed  the 
President  in  a  set  speech,  to  which  a  reply 
was  made,  and  the  Chief  of  the  nation 
bade  good  night  and  retired  within  to  his 
own  domestic  altar,  where  the  welcome  of 
affection  awaited  him.  The  Captain  and  I 
also  entered  the  door  of  our  new  home, 
having  listened  to  the  last  hurrah,  and  we 
soon  found  ourselves  established  hi  large 
rooms  beautifully  furnished  and  everything 
arranged  to  secure  the  most  perfect  comfort. 


164  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

The  President  himself  soon  made  his  appea:*- 
ance  and  gave  his  personal  attention  to  the 
inspection  of  everything,  that  his  guests 
might  feel  assured  of  his  courtesy.  His 
other  guests  were  cared  for  with  the  same 
solicitude." 

Five  or  six  days  were  thus  passed  at  the 
White  House,  where  Commodore  Pauldir  g 
met  many  distinguished  and  interesting 
people.  While  some  repairs  were  being 
made  to  the  W abash  the  Commodore  went 
to  his  home  at  Huntington  and,  as  he  said, 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  winter 
preparations  for  the  comfort  of  his  family 
tolerably  complete. 

Just  before  sailing  again  he  says: 

"I  had  the  satisfaction  of  receiving  Mr. 
Washington  Irving  with  many  of  his 
friends.  The  officers  in  receiving  him 
wore  their  epaulettes  and  we  gave  him  a 
salute  of  fifteen  guns.  He  was  gratified,  as 
were  his  party,  all  of  whom  were  his  family 
friends. " 

On  the  28th  of  October,  1856,  they  crossed 
the  bar  and  were  off,  a  year  from  the  day 
they  sailed  in  the  Potomac.  All  went  well 
during  the  first  days  of  the  cruise,  but  on 
the  30th  of  November  a  heavy  gale  with  high 
seas  put  them  in  great  jeopardy,  and  the 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        165 

remainder  of  the  trip  to  Aspinwall  was  full 
of  unpleasant  experiences.  Extracts  from 
the  Admiral's  letters  give  details. 

FLAG-SHIP  WABASH, 
AGUADILLIA,   I'D   OF  PORTO  Rico, 

December,  1856. 

"We  arrived  here  to-day,  and  will  sail  to-morrow  for 
Aspinwall.  Our  passage  thus  far  would  have  been 
pleasant  but  for  a  gale  we  encountered  in  the  Gulf 
Stream  when  our  ship  rolled  with  unusual  violence,  our 
rigging  became  very  slack,  much  of  our  ironwork  gave 
way,  and  altogether  we  had  not  only  an  exciting  time, 
but  serious  accidents.  We  lost  one  man  who  was  killed 
by  the  breaking  of  a  piece  of  iron  whereby  he  was  struck 
violently  with  a  block.  He  never  spoke  afterward 
and  died  the  next  day.  He  was  one  of  the  Potomac's 
men,  and  a  man  of  excellent  character.  At  the 
same  time  a  man  had  his  ribs  broken.  Another 
man  had  his  leg  broken,  a  compound  fracture,  three 
were  dreadfully  scalded,  and  broken  heads,  bruised 
limbs,  and  sprains  in  numbers  amounting  to  thirty  at 
least.  I  myself  had  a  severe  fall  and  escaped  serious 
injury  narrowly.  I  had  just  left  the  deck,  where  I  saw 
a  number  of  men  thrown  to  leeward  with  an  unaccount 
able  precipitancy  by  a  lurch  of  the  ship.  One  fellow 
near  where  I  was  standing,  although  in  a  reclining 
posture,  went  as  far  as  amidships,  when  he  turned  a 
sommersault  and  landed  heavily  at  the  next  moment 
against  the  lee  side  of  the  ship. 

"  I  thought  this,  with  what  I  had  seen,  would  be  a 
caution  to  me  and  soon  after  went  to  the  cabin  and 
seated  myself  on  the  sofa.  I  thought  of  something  to 
be  done  on  deck  and  rose  to  get  my  cap  from  my  room 


166  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

when  just  at  that  moment,  without  my  perceiving  a 
movement,  the  ship  rolled  so  suddenly  that  I  had  no 
tune  to  control  my  tendency  of  gravitation.  A\\ay 
I  went  like  a  shot  out  of  a  gun,  but  in  my  descending 
way  caught  fairly  with  full  and  open  right  hand  1  he 
stanchion  amidships  in  the  hope  of  holding  on.  It  was 
a  great  mistake,  however,  as  my  hold  was  broken  by  i,he 
preponderance,  and  I  brought  up  over  the  legs  of  chdrs 
which  had  been  secured,  laid  down  alongside  the  scfa, 
and  was  thrown,  doubled  and  twisted,  literally  on  that 
article  of  furniture,  my  head  and  shoulders  coming  in 
contact  with  the  bulkhead  of  the  Captain's  room.  I 
was  amazed,  felt  hurt,  and  lay  for  some  time  before 
I  rose  to  experience  the  extent  of  my  injury.  I  felt 
that  the  small  of  my  back  was  bruised,  my  wrist  and 
arm  strained,  and  that  the  sinews  of  my  neck  had  not 
escaped.  This,  as  I  afterward  found,  was  the  extent 
of  my  injury.  I  was  sore  and  somewhat  lame  for  a  few 
days  when  my  ailings  passed  off. 

"  When  recovered  from  the  first  surprise  I  went  care 
fully  on  deck,  thinking  if  the  Captain  should  get  such 
a  fall  how  much  inconvenience  it  would  be  to  him  as 
well  as  myself.  I  told  him  of  my  experience  and 
begged  that  he  would  be  particularly  careful  to  guard 
against  accident.  We  stood  together  for  a  time  and  in 
half  an  hour  saw  the  main  rigging  slack  up  so  that  it 
afforded  no  support  to  the  mast,  and  gave  direction 
to  have  it  set  up.  I  went  below  and  was  seated  there 
for  a  short  time  when  I  heard  of  numerous  accidents 
from  a  sudden  roll  of  the  ship.  One  after  another  was 
reported  to  me  and  then  that  the  Captain  was  severely 
hurt.  In  a  moment  afterward  he  was  brought  below 
with  his  head  dreadfully  cut.  A  deep  gash  three 
inches  long  had  severed  his  scalp  on  the  right  side  above 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        167 

the  temple,  and  the  sinews  of  his  neck  were  greatly 
strained.  He  escaped  by  the  merest  chance,  being 
thrown  upon  the  gun  deck,  which  would  probably  have 
killed  him. 

"I  had  then  to  assume  his  duties.  The  rigging 
slacked  and  the  ironwork  gave  way  fore  and  aft, 
and  the  reports  of  evil  omen  that  were  brought 
reminded  me  of  King  Richard  the  Third,  of  Shakespeare, 
when  the  battle  was  going  against  him.  The  First 
Lieutenant,  although  doing  his  duty  manfully,  said  we 
must  put  back  to  repair,  to  which  I  replied  not  whilst 
there  was  a  mast  standing.  You  will  suppose  from  all 
this  that  we  had  something  more  than  a  usual  tune,  but 
our  damages  were  repaired  without  putting  back  and 
we  have  had  fine  weather  since  and  the  hurt  are  doing 
well.  I  have  felt  very  sorry  for  my  poor  old  Captain, 
who  is  as  fine  and  manly  a  fellow  as  one  would  wish  to 
see  or  sail  with.  The  truth  is  that  I  have  not  met  with 
a  man  that  I  like  better." 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Paulding: 

FLAG-SHIP  WABASH, 
AT  ANCHOR  AT  SEA  NEAR  ASPINWALL, 

December  13,  1856. 

"Nothing  of  any  particular  interest  occurred  to  us 
after  the  date  of  my  last  scribbling  until  yesterday, 
when  we  made  the  land  on  this  coast  near  the  port  of 
Porto  Bello,  famed  in  times  past  as  one  of  the  great 
treasure  ports  of  Spain,  from  whence  America  sent  her 
treasures  to  enrich  Spain.  It  rained  before  we  made 
the  land  and  continued  to  do  so  all  day.  In  the  after 
noon  it  fell  in  torrents  and  the  weather  was  very  thick 
and  the  locations  along  the  land  only  to  be  noted  by  a 


168  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

close  proximity.  The  Captain  was  on  deck  in  his  water 
proof  and  I  put  on  mine  and  joined  him.  There  was 
no  wind,  and  the  calm  and  warm  weather  made  our 
steam  languid  both  because  we  wanted  draught  ani 
cold  water  for  condensing  —  our  rate  of  going  was  abou  t 
five  or  six  miles  an  hour  without  sails.  We  had  thus 
coasted  the  shore  along  from  headland  to  headland, 
keeping  so  near  that  Aspinwall  could  not  escape  us, 
until  the  hour  of  six.  The  thick  weather  and  rain 
rendered  objects  still  less  visible  than  before,  when 
suddenly  the  rain  ceased  for  a  time  and  it  became  com 
paratively  clear.  To  our  amazement  it  providentially 
unveiled  a  scene  that  filled  us  with  great  anxiety. 
Breakers  were  extending  along  on  our  starboard  bo^v 
and  a  high  bluff  of  land  was  there,  whilst  on  the  port 
side  there  was  not  room  to  wear.  No  time  could  be 
lost  and  our  situation  each  moment  became  more 
critical. 

"  The  engine  was  stopped  antf  orders  given  to  back, 
whilst  the  helm  was  put  hard  to  port.  The  ship's 
headway  was  by  this  means  somewhat  lessened,  but 
her  bow  pointed  to  the  breakers  and  she  was  slowly 
surging  on  them.  Usually  the  engine  backs  in  three 
minutes,  but  now  it  took  nearer  half  an  hour.  In 
expectation  of  backing,  by  which  we  should  have  gone 
off,  we  held  on  to  our  anchor  until  the  last  moment. 
From  ten  fathoms,  however,  we  went  to  nine,  to  eight 
and  seven,  when  the  anchor  was  let  go.  It  was  too 
late,  as  the  ship  bore  it  along  with  her,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  every  man  held  his  breath  as  we  felt  her  strike. 
Again  she  rose  upon  the  swell  and  came  down  harder 
than  before,  and  after  a  breathless  interval  she  rose  and 
came  down  with  her  great  weight  and  it  seemed  as  if 
her  masts  would  go  through  her  bottom,  and  this  was 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        169 

once  or  twice  repeated  when  she  rested  upon  the  sand. 
I  had  scarcely  a  hope  that  her  timbers  would  ever  have 
left  that  place,  and  you  may  suppose  how  painful  were 
the  conflicting  feelings  that  were  then  oppressing  my 
heart  and  mind.  Thank  God  my  fortitude  and 
presence  of  mind  sustained  me  without  the  flinching 
of  a  nerve.  I  took  the  Captain,  who  was  alongside 
of  me,  by  the  hand,  led  him  to  the  quarter-deck,  told 
him  to  get  out  his  boats  and  carry  out  an  anchor  astern, 
have  his  axes  ready  to  cut  away  the  masts,  etc.,  etc., 
and  everything  went  on  with  less  confusion  than  you 
could  have  supposed,  under  circumstances  calculated 
to  try  the  steady  courage  of  men  more  than  battle. 

"  The  ship  had  rested  on  the  ground  from  the  gangway 
forward  —  abaft  that,  there  was  water  enough.  Every 
minute  was  lengthened  out  to  a  long  tune.  At  last 
the  engine  began  to  work  and  the  propeller  to  back, 
the  men  were  all  sent  aft  to  lighten  her  forward,  and 
she  began  to  move  and  in  a  few  minutes  was  fairly 
afloat.  That  was  a  moment  like  triumph,  a  heavy  load 
fell  from  every  man's  heart,  and  the  Captain  gave  the 
signal  for  a  hurrah  that  silenced  the  roar  of  the  angry 
breakers.  We  got  her  round  and  stood  out,  and  lay 
by  during  the  night  just  clear  of  the  land.  The  ship 
has  been  made  to  leak  some  and  we  shall  have  to  go 
into  dock  when  we  get  home.  The  rest  of  the  winter 
I  shall  hope  to  spend  with  you.  The  Captain  is  every 
inch  a  man  and  a  noble  fine  fellow.  No  situation  could 
be  more  trying  than  ours,  and  I  am  proud  to  have  in 
remembrance  the  true  bearing  of  the  officers  and  men." 

(Signed)    H.  PAULDING. 

The  winter  passed  with  the  ordinary 
incidents  of  exchange  of  civilities  between 


170  LIFE   OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

the  officers  of  foreign  vessels  and  officials  of 
the  various  stations,  and  in  the  short  tirne^ 
intervening  between  constant  expeditions 
to  investigate  places  along  the  coast.  On  tho 
25th  of  May,  1857,  he  writes  in  the  journal: 
"I  took  the  fleet  surgeon  and  Captain  Stou; 
and  landed  on  the  reef  off  Point  Torro.  I: 
was  low  water  and  the  reef  was  bare  - 
broken  coral.  Along  the  ledges  there  were 
plenty  of  good  sized  pan-fish,  which  took 
whatever  of  food  we  threw  into  the  water 
for  them.  We  found  a  bed  of  small  oysters. 
We  left,  and  landed  on  a  small  sand  beach, 
where  were  two  canoes  leaving  for  Aspinwall. 
We  went  to  the  hut  hard  by  and  saw  two  or 
three  mulatto  men  and  women  and  five 
young  children  entirely  naked.  They  were 
eating  rice,  which  was  shared  by  a  lean  dog. 
Vegetation  was  luxuriant  and  the  forest 
dense.  Sugar-cane,  bananas,  and  papyas 
grew  without  cultivation.  Cocoanut  trees 
were  everywhere  growing  alongshore.  We 
returned  at  sundown." 

TUESDAY,  MAY  26,  1857. 

OFF  ASPINWALL. 

"I  landed  on  the  reef  at  Point  Torro,  where  there 
are  some  cocoanut  trees.  Lewis,  one  of  the  boat's 
crew,  climbed  one  of  the  trees  for  fruit  and  found  there 
what  we  call  a  mongoose.  Others  came  to  his  assist- 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        171 

ance  and  after  a  great  struggle  the  animal  was  beaten  to 
the  ground  and  secured.  It  was  gray,  with  two  heavy 
black  stripes  running  over  the  shoulders,  which  are 
broad,  indicating  great  strength.  From  the  shoulders 
it  tapers  gradually,  terminating  in  a  tail  about  two  feet 
long,  thick  at  the  body  and  growing  smaller  toward 
the  end.  The  nose  was  five  or  six  inches  long  and 
tapering.  The  legs  were  not  unlike  those  of  a  lizard, 
strong  and  armed  with  claws,  the  nails  on  which  were 
very  hard  and  sharp  and  of  great  strength,  as  was 
indicated  by  its  crushing  large  sticks  that  were  thrust 
toward  it.  It  was  covered  with  hair,  except  the  tail, 
which  was  almost  bare,  and  the  skin  thick  and  hard. 
It  weighed  from  twelve  to  twenty  pounds  and  alto 
gether  was  such  a  creature  that  few  persons  strange 
to  it  would  have  thought  of  attempting  to  capture. 
In  the  strife  it  got  some  severe  cuts  and  bruises.  The 
men  brought  it  to  the  boat  and  tied  its  tail  to  the 
awning  stanchions,  where  it  seemed  subdued  and 
quiet." 

MAY  28th. 

"Two  boats  wrent  with  the  seine  and  returned  within 
a  few  hours  with  a  fine  supply  of  fish  —  an  abundance 
for  the  whole  crew." 

MAY  30th. 

"A  very  heavy  shower  came  off  from  the  land  with 
thunder  and  lightning,  a  waterspout  passed  near  us  to 
seaward." 

MAY  31st. 

"The  Cyane  came  and  anchored  at  8  P.M." 

JUNE  4th. 

"Order  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  the 
Cyane  to  visit  San  Juan  del  Norte,  and  should  any  of 


172  LIFE  OP  HIRAM   PAULDING 

our  countrymen  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  expedition 
with  General  William  Walker  present  themselves  on 
board,  to  receive  and  convey  them  to  Aspinwail. 
Knowing  there  are  at  this  time  one  hundred  and  fifty 
persons  of  that  description  there,  I  hurried  the  prepara 
tion  of  the  Cyane,  and  in  the  morning  sent  her  sailing 
orders  to  go  to  sea  in  the  evening." 

JUNE  6th. 

"The  English  mail  steamer  Dee  arrived  from  Srn 
Juan  del  Norte.  Colonel  Gouty,  having  some  of 
Walker's  men  in  charge,  and  not  having  received  my 
letter,  sent  by  the  Dee  a  young  man  named  John  Tabor 
who  had  served  with  Walker  and  was  editor  of  the 
Nicaraguensa.  The  poor  fellow  was  in  rags,  had  lost 
some  of  his  fingers  shot  away,  and  had  his  leg  broke  i. 
He  seemed  about  twenty-five  and  of  an  intelligent 
and  active  spirit.  He  was  sent  to  inform  me  of  the 
condition  of  his  comrades. 

JUNE  10th. 

"H.  B.  M.  screw  steamer  Tartar  came  in  and 
anchored.  Captain  Erskine,  the  senior  officer  present, 
immediately  came  on  board  to  offer  the  services  of 
the  Tartar  to  go  to  Greytown  for  our  unfortunate  coun 
trymen.  I  acknowledged  his  courtesy,  but  declined 
the  service,  as  Commander  Robb  in  the  Cyane  was 
instructed  to  bring  here  all  who  might  present  them 
selves  for  protection.  In  the  evening  Captain  Erskine 
and  Dunlop  came  on  board  and  I  landed  with  them  to 
call  on  our  minister  to  Bogota,  Mr.  Bowlin,  who  is 
staying  with  Colonel  Totten.  After  a  call  on  him  we 
called  on  the  English  vice-consul,  Mr.  Cowan,  and 
returned  on  board  a  little  after  nine.  Wooding  and 
watering  as  fast  as  possible.  The  weather  looks  stormy 
outside." 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        173 

JUNE  llth. 

"At  3  P.M.  I  sat  down  to  my  table  at  dinner  with  Mr. 
Bowlin,  our  minister  to  Bogota,  or  New  Granada, 
Colonel  Totten  of  the  Panama  Railroad  Co.,  Mr. 
Cowan,  the  English  vice-consul,  Capt.  John  E.  Erskine 
of  H.  M.  S.  Orion,  Commander  Pollard,  and  Captain 
Dunlop  of  H.  M.  steam  propeller  Tartar,  Lieuts.  Sin 
clair,  Beaumont,  and  Fairfax.  The  company  remained 
at  table  until  near  eight  o'clock.  The  dinner  was  very 
good  for  the  place  and  all  passed  off  pleasantly." 

JUNE  18th. 

"The  Cyane  coming  in  slowly.  She  brought  from 
San  Juan  142  men,  women,  and  children.  Fifty  of  the 
men  were  sick  and  wounded.  Captain  Erskine  sent 
Commander  Pollard  to  say  that  he  would  send  his 
boats  or  render  any  other  service  he  could.  I  accepted 
his  boats  for  the  following  day,  having  determined,  as 
the  only  thing  that  could  be  done,  to  transport  them 
in  the  W abash  to  New  York.  The  company  refused 
to  take  the  sick  and  wounded  and  would  not  take  any 
to  New  York.  They  would  send  the  well  to  New 
Orleans  for  forty  dollars  for  grown  people  and  twenty 
for  children.  The  fleet  surgeon  recommended  by  letter 
that  the  sick  and  wounded  should  go  to  New  York.  I 
made  sailing  orders  for  the  Saratoga  to  go  to  San  Juan 
del  Norte  till  further  orders,  and  detailed  the  other 
vessels  of  the  fleet  to  other  stations,  which  kept  me 
very  busy." 

The  following  day  the  filibusters  were 
put  on  board  the  Wdbash.  The  officers 
and  men  gave  up  all  they  could  for  their 


174  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

accommodation.  The  account  of  the  con 
dition  of  the  sick  and  wounded  is  dread 
ful  beyond  description.  Those  who  ha\e 
known  the  result  of  neglect  and  destitution 
can  imagine  it.  There  were  thirteen  women 
who  all  behaved  well,  ''deporting  them 
selves  wonderfully  well  under  the  circum 
stances."  There  was  difficulty  in  making 
the  able-bodied  men  minister  to  the  necessity 
of  their  suffering  comrades,  but  after  finding 
their  ration  withheld  for  twenty-four  hours 
they  came  to  terms.  One,  formerly  a  colo 
nel  of  United  States  dragoons,  afterward  a 
colonel  in  Walker's  army,  died  on  the  way 
home.  His  wife  was  with  him. 

June  29th  the  Wabash  arrived  at  New 
York  and  all  took  their  departure.  The 
sick  were  sent  to  Bellevue  Hospital,  and  the 
ship  was  ordered  to  get  ready  for  sea.  Some 
men  whose  time  was  up  were  discharged 
and  the  places  were  filled  by  others,  and  on 
the  30th  of  July  the  Wabash  sailed  for 
Aspinwall,  arriving  there  on  the  12th  of 
August. 

During  the  month  of  August  a  reconnais 
sance  of  the  Isthmus  was  ordered  regarding 
the  feasibility  of  an  interoceanic  canal. 

From  the  journal,  Wednesday,  September 
23,  1857: 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        175 

"It  rained  hard  early  in  the  day.  I  dined  with 
Captain  Gray  on  board  the  Star  of  the  West.1  He 
told  me  she  had  six  boats,  no  one  of  which  would  carry 
twenty  people,  and  in  case  of  the  loss  of  the  ship  at  sea 
the  passengers  must  perish  for  the  want  of  boats,  and 
as  a  necessary  consequence  the  mails  and  treasure  would 
be  lost." 

OCTOBER  2d. 

"Cloudy  with  light  wind  from  the  north.  The 
Northern  Light  arrived  from  New  York  with  mails  and 
five  hundred  passengers,  brought  the  sad  news  of  the 
foundering  of  the  Centred  America  and  loss  of  five  hun 
dred  passengers." 

From  a  letter  dated: 

FLAG-SHIP  WABASH,  OFF  ASPINWALL, 

October  2d,  1857. 

"The  Northern  Light  came  in  last  evening  at  9  P.M. 
and  at  eleven  we  had  your  letter  and  the  papers.  I 
had  got  into  a  sound  sleep  when  Leon  and  Tatt  woke 
me  up  to  give  me  my  letters  and  to  tell  me  the  sad, 
sad  tale  of  poor  Herndon's  loss  with  five  hundred 
passengers,  and  I  have  felt  like  weeping  all  day. 
Poor  Herndon  played  his  part  manfully,  saving 
the  women  and  children,  and  when  he  sunk  in  his 
hapless  ship  he  must  have  had  a  melancholy  satis 
faction  in  knowing  that  he  could  have  done  nothing 
more.  I  have  worn  our  colors  at  half-mast  to-day  for 
him.  It  was  all  we  could  do.  Poor  John  Dobbin,  too, 
went  down  with  the  ship.  I  had  a  pleasant  interview 
with  him  here  and  introduced  and  commended  him 

1  One  of  the  ships  belonging  to  the  Transit  Co. 


176  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

to  Herndon  just  before  they  left.  .  .  .  Herndon  and 
his  passengers  were  lost  for  the  want  of  boats.  It  was 
not  blowing  a  hurricane,  nor  anything  like  it,  not  even 
a  heavy  gale,  and  suitable  boats  in  sufficient  number 
would  have  saved  everybody  and  perhaps  the  mail 
and  treasure.  They  had  time  enough,  and  even  tie 
small  boats  they  had  went  backward  and  forward  to 
the  brig.  The  case  is  a  palpable  one.  I  have  bem 
for  a  long  time  observing  this  deficiency,  and  had 
written  a  letter  to  the  Department  on  the  subject  to 
go  by  the  Central  America.  Wanting  to  consider 
further  on  the  subject  and  not  being  quite  satisfbd 
with  the  phraseology,  I  laid  it  by  and  rewrote  it  two 
days  since,  when  I  gave  it  to  the  Secretary  to  prepare 
for  my  signature,  and  it  was  so  prepared  when  this 
melancholy  exemplification  was  presented  in  the  loss 
of  the  Central  America  and  her  passengers.  I  shall 
send  it  by  this  mail,  backed  by  the  proof  of  the  calamity 
which  will  carry  mourning  through  the  country  far  arid 
wide." 

OCTOBER  6th. 

"At  12.30  the  first  train  of  passengers  arrived  from 
Panama.  Eight  hundred  in  all  came  over  and  there 
were  one  hundred  more  on  the  Isthmus,  so  that  the 
Northern  Light,  which  is  four  hundred  tons  less  than 
the  Illinois,  takes  home  nine  hundred  passengers.  They 
were  generally  miners,  laborers,  and  altogether  a  very 
rough-looking  set.  The  steamer  passed  us  about  nine. 
Our  band  played  and  we  exchanged  cheers,  and  rockets 
were  thrown  and  they  went  on  their  way.  Immediately 
after  we  got  under  way  and  stood  out,  steering  N.  N.  W. 
for  Providence  Island.  The  weather  was  very  fine  — 
almost  calm  —  and  the  sea  smooth." 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        177 

OCTOBER  7th. 

"At  4  A.M.  we  made  the  island  of  New  Providence 
and  when  day  broke,  at  five,  saw  the  Northern  Light 
anchored.  She  had  run  on  shore  the  previous  evening 
at  six  and  got  off  at  three  hi  the  morning.  We  were 
glad,  having  made  preparations  thinking  we  would 
have  to  get  her  off." 

OCTOBER  8th.    OLD  PROVIDENCE. 

"This  island  is  claimed  by  New  Granada,  but  there 
are  no  officers  of  Government.  The  island  is  about 
five  miles  long  and  two  wide;  volcanic,  high,  and 
mountainous.  It  is  healthy  and  the  soil  is  very  pro 
ductive.  There  are  hi  all  five  hundred  inhabitants. 
The  cane,  coffee,  and  cocoa  grow  finely.  Here  we  got 
oranges  for  one  dollar  a  hundred,  limes  for  five  cents, 
alligator  pears  for  a  cent  apiece,  watermelons,  plantain, 
bananas,  pigs,  chickens,  and  beef.  Haviland  supplied 
us  with  fish.  Here  we  found  a  seed  that  the  natives 
use  in  preference  to  coffee.  The  plant  is  an  annual, 
growing  about  two  feet  high,  branching  out,  and  bearing 
the  seed  hi  pods  three  or  four  inches  long,  the  pod 
and  seed  resembling  that  of  the  locust.  It  grows  hi 
great  luxuriance  wild  and  seems  a  very  hardy  plant.  A 
black  woman  gave  me  some  coffee  made  from  it,  which 
was  palatable  and  precisely  like  coffee. 

"At  midnight  we  got  under  way  and  at  daylight 
made  the  island  of  St.  Andrew's.  This  island  is  one 
of  the  most  favored  spots  in  the  world.  It  is  moder 
ately  high,  the  hills  rising  with  a  gentle  ascent  with 
broad  and  beautiful  valleys  considering  the  extent  of 
the  island.  At  the  southern  extremity  is  a  mile  or  two 
of  low  level  land  where  we  saw  large  fields  of  corn  and 
cane.  The  sides  of  some  of  the  hills  were  covered  with 


178  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

extensive  plantations  of  cocoanut  trees,  which  appeared 
very  beautiful.  The  hurricanes  never  reach  here  and 
with  the  exception  of  a  short  interval  the  mild  and 
refreshing  trade-winds  blow  ceaselessly.  The  islend 
has  somewhat  more  than  a  thousand  inhabitants.  It 
is  from  five  to  six  miles  long  and  about  two  broid. 
It  furnishes  supplies  of  cattle,  pigs,  and  poultry,  with 
a  variety  of  vegetables  —  yams,  sweet  potatoes,  cocoa, 
yucca  —  and  the  fruits  —  oranges,  bananas,  plantains, 
alligator  pears,  limes,  and  many  others  —  are  very  ab  m- 
dant  and  good.  Indian  corn  grows  well  and  the  cane, 
coffee,  and  cocoa  are  here  in  their  favored  region. 
Many  of  the  hills  and  valleys  are  covered  with  forat." 

NOVEMBEK  2d. 

"Rain  during  the  afternoon.  We  found  the  rigging 
on  the  spar  deck  covered  with  fungi.  Mr.  Bowie  came 
to  me  with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Corwine  regarding;  a 
small  English  brig  that  wanted  her  sails  repaired.  He 
seemed  a  man  of  intelligence  and  gave  me  much  infor 
mation  in  regard  to  Boca  del  Torro,  Chiriqui,  and  the 
coast  from  here  to  San  Juan  del  Norte.  Moyen  or 
Salt  Creek  is  the  only  place  this  side  of  San  Juan  del 
Norte  where  Walker  could  land  and  make  his  way  into 
Costa  Rica.  It  is  sixty  miles  from  San  Jose.  There 
is  no  harbor,  but  a  mule  road  after  leaving  the  river. 
He  named  six  streams  that  lead  from  Chiriqui,  up  which 
he  trades  in  large  canoes.  The  town  of  Chiriqui  is 
forty  miles  from  the  lagoon  and  there  are  savannas  of 
great  extent  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see,  and  vast  herds 
of  cattle.  At  Boco  del  Torro  commence  a  range  of 
coal  mines  where  he  has  seen  coal  extending  for  twenty 
leagues  and  where  a  vessel  may  go  alongside  of  the 
shore  and  load.  Mr.  Bowie  told  me  it  was  anthracite, 


TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  WABASH        179 

but  subsequently  Colonel  Totten  informed  me  that  it 
was  bituminous  and  of  little  value.  Mr.  Bowie  says 
the  place  is  healthy  and  that  at  Boca  del  Torro  there 
is  no  underbrush  and  you  can  see  through  the  large 
trees  at  a  great  distance;  that  there  is  fine  shooting  of 
wild  turkeys  and  hogs;  on  the  shore  is  found  abun 
dance  of  turtle,  and  fish  in  the  bay.  There  are  about 
twelve  hundred  inhabitants." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    CAPTURE    OF   WILLIAM   WALKER 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 
December  llth,  1855. 

Sir:  The  condition  of  affairs  in  Nicaragua,  instead 
of  assuming  the  appearance  incident  to  a  stable  and 
well  regulated  Government  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  by 
the  people,  threatens  to  become  more  complicated. 
Although  the  instructions  already  given  may  be 
entirely  sufficient,  it  is  considered  prudent  to  put  you 
in  possession  of  more  recent  intelligence  and  to  advise 
you  distinctly  of  the  relations  of  your  Government  to 
the  authorities  claiming  to  be  in  the  lawful  exercise  of 
the  functions  of  the  Government  of  that  State. 

Mr.  Wheeler,  the  U.  S.  minister  to  Nicaragua,  had 
been  instructed  not  to  recognize  or  have  official  inter 
course  with  Mr.  Walker,  or  those  who  favor  his  revolu 
tionary  proceedings  and  claim  to  administer  the  affairs 
of  that  republic.  Previous,  however,  to  receiving 
those  instructions,  our  minister  had  pursued  a  different 
course.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  the  latest  instructions 
to  him  in  order  that  you  may  distinctly  understand 
the  views  of  your  Government.  The  President  has 
called  my  attention  to  the  following  extract  from 
Mr.  Wheeler's  despatch  of  the  12th  ulto.: 

"I   hope  that  soon  a  ship  of  war  will  be  at  San 
Juan  del  Norte.     In  which  event,  as  I  learn  from  good 
authority,  the  present  Government  of  Nicaragua  will 
180 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER        181 

assert  its  rights  to  the  town  and  port  of  San  Juan  del 
Norte  by  taking  possession  and  hauling  down  the 
Mosquito  flag  and  raising  then*  own,  it  may  be  proper 
to  give  instructions  to  the  commander  of  any  United 
States  ship  that  may  visit  that  port,  since  it  is  said 
and  believed  that  this  occupation  by  Nicaragua  will  be 
opposed  by  the  English  naval  force,  which  is  always 
present  in  that  harbor." 

It  is  inferred  from  this  statement  that  Mr.  Wheeler 
is  regulating  his  movements  in  regard  to  San  Juan  del 
Norte  with  the  hope  of  receiving  countenance  and 
assistance  from  the  naval  force  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  not,  however,  inferred  that  the  opinion  is  enter 
tained  that  the  British  naval  force  will  take  possession 
of  San  Juan  for  the  purpose  of  occupying  or  colonizing 
it,  or  retaining  it  at  all,  but  that  they  may  possibly 
interfere  simply  to  carry  out  the  views  of  the  British 
Government  in  the  exercise  of  a  protectorate  over  the 
Mosquito  territory,  so  far  as  to  prevent  any  force  from 
"hauling  down"  the  Mosquito  flag,  and  no  farther. 
If  that  be  the  case,  then  I  am  directed  by  the  President 
to  instruct  you  to  confine  any  interference  on  your 
part  exclusively  to  the  protection  of  American  citizens. 
It  is  proper  that  I  should  add  that  official  corre 
spondence  with  the  British  Government  confirms  the 
President  hi  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  intention  on 
then*  part  to  take  possession  of  San  Juan. 

You  have  already  been  advised  that  your  Govern 
ment  differs  essentially  from  the  Government  of  Great 
Britain  in  its  interpretation  of  the  treaty  of  1850,  and 
that  the  President  will  not  recede  from  or  abandon  his 
construction  of  it.  It  is  proper,  however,  that  I  should 
inform  you  that  the  questions  arising  under  the  treaty 
are  now  the  subject  of  investigation,  and  that  the  hope 


182  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

of  satisfactory  adjustment  has  not  as  yet  been  entirely 
abandoned. 

The  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  JV'  r. 
Wheeler  will  inform  you  of  the  views  of  your  Govern 
ment  toward  Mr.  Walker  and  the  present  unstable 
Government  in  Nicaragua,  as  yet  unsanctioned  by  trie 
people. 

I  am  directed  by  the  President  to  advise  you  tl:at 
it  is  not  expected  of  you  to  afford  aid  or  countenance  to 
any  force  which  may  attempt  to  seize  San  Juan  del 
Norte  under  the  party  now  assuming  to  be  in  po^er 
in  Nicaragua.  You  will,  however,  afford  protection  to 
American  citizens  if  there  be  any  in  that  region  who 
have  not  abandoned  their  own  country  and  forfeited 
claims  to  protection. 

I  am  not  aware  of  ,any  necessity  whatever  for 
detaining  the  Fulton,  which  bears  you  these  des 
patches.  You  will,  however,  exercise  your  judgment. 
I  am  informed  that  the  machinery  is  by  no  means 
strong  and  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  tax  her  severely. 
I  am  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
J.  C.  DOBBIN. 

COMMODORE  HIRAM  PAULDING, 

Commanding  Home  Squadron, 
San  Juan  del  Norte,  Nicaragua. 

The  capture  of  William  Walker  during  this 
cruise  is  a  well  known  episode  of  the  history 
of  those  days  preceding  the  Civil  War. 

In  being  ordered  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  with  the  flag-ship  at  Aspinwall  and  the 
Saratoga  at  Punta  Arenas  for  the  ostensible 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER        183 

object  of  preventing  " filibusterism, "  the 
order  was  so  vaguely  and  ambiguously 
worded  that  it  was  capable  of  a  double  in 
terpretation.  Paulding,  who  had  not  spent 
all  his  years  in  the  service  without  a  knowl 
edge  of  what  patriotism,  the  laws  of  the 
civilized  world,  and  our  treaty  obligations 
involved,  fearless  of  personal  consequences, 
followed  the  dictates  of  his  conscience, 
common  sense,  and  the  spirit  of  his  orders 
and,  as  is  well  known,  arrested  the  leader 
who  has  been  termed  "the  gray-eyed  man  of 
destiny"  and  sent  him  with  his  companions, 
two  hundred  more  or  less,  to  New  York — for 
which  action  the  Republic  of  Nicaragua  in 
its  gratitude  voted  him  twenty  caballieras 
of  land  and  a  handsome  jeweled  sword,  which 
last,  Congress  in  1861  allowed  him  to  accept, 
but,  feeling  it  a  dangerous  precedent,  declined 
to  allow  him  to  accept  the  land. 

The  story  of  his  action  can  best  be  told 
by  the  following  letters  and  notes  from  the 
journal: 

Letter  from  an  officer  on  board  the  Wabash: 

FLAG-SHIP  WABASH, 

December  2d,  1857. 

"This  morning  the  shipping  at  Aspinwall  was 
reduced  to  one  vessel.  Now  it  numbers  ten.  Of  the 
arrivals  four  were  steamers,  one  a  man-of-war,  English, 


184  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

and  last,  but  by  far  the  greatest  of  the  day,  anc 
that  which  concerns  us  most,  is  the  steamer  Fashion 
The  English  mail  steamer  Dee  came  in  at  the  same  time 
and  by  her  we  received  letters  from  Captain  Chatarc. 
saying  that  the  Fashion  had  arrived  at  San  Juan  h 
week  ago  with  Walker  and  one  hundred  and  eight}  • 
men,  'officers  of  the  Nicaraguan  army  and  a  few  per 
sons  who  are  desirous  of  becoming  citizens  of  tho 
State/  as  Walker  remarks  in  his  letter.  They  landed 
before  the  Captain  and  officers  of  the  Saratoga  knew 
or  guessed  who  they  were,  and,  after  his  having  landed, 
Captain  Chatard  thought  he  could  not  interfere. 
Commodore  Paulding  received  a  long  letter  from 
Walker  by  the  Dee  complaining  of  the  interference 
of  Captain  Chatard  in  not  allowing  him  to  take 
possession  of  some  buildings  on  the  point  where  he 
landed,  which  belong  to  a  Mr.  Scott,  former  agent 
of  the  Transit  Company.  A  copy  of  Captain  Cha- 
tard's  and  also  of  Walker's  letter  has  been  sent  to  the 
Department  and  will  probably  be  published.  Even 
if  they  are  not,  the  papers  will  give  you  a  better 
account  of  the  transaction  than  I  can.  Walker  is  look 
ing  for  the  arrival  of  three  more  vessels,  a  steamer  and 
two  sailing  vessels,  and  may  wait  at  San  Juan  until 
we  arrive  there,  which  will  be  on  Friday  or  Saturday, 
as  we  sail  to-morrow. 

"  The  opinion  among  the  officers  seems  to  be  that 
Captain  C.  has  made  a  very  great  mistake  in  allowing 
the  men  to  land  from  the  steamer,  and  as  he  was  put 
there  for  the  special  purpose  of  preventing  such  landing, 
that  he  had  not  kept  a  sharper  lookout.  The  Captain 
is  exceedingly  worried,  apparently,  as  he  may  very  well 
be,  and  I  am  afraid  he  has  gotten  himself  in  a  very  bad 
scrape." 


CAPTURE   OF  WILLIAM   WALKER        185 

ASPINWALL,  Thursday,  December  3,  18.57. 
"Afternoon  —  showers  and  squalls.  The  English 
mail  steamer  Dee  arrived  from  San  Juan  with  infor 
mation  that  Walker  had  landed  there  with  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  men.  Soon  after,  the  steamer  Fashion, 
which  had  brought  Walker  from  Mobile  to  San  Juan 
del  Norte,  came  in  and  anchored.  Her  papers  were 
examined  and  she  had  no  clearance.  The  Consul 
thought  she  should  be  seized,  but  did  not  like  the 
responsibility  or  understand  the  form,  and  I  did  not 
consider  it  my  duty.  An  English  bark  arrived  from 
England." 

ASPINWALL,  Friday,  December  4,  1857. 
"Heavy  squalls  of  wind  and  rain,  some  thunder. 
After  making  up  the  mail  and  sending  it  on  shore  by 
the  Consul,  at  4  P.M.,  the  steam  being  up,  we  got  under 
way  and  stood  out  of  the  harbor.  The  ship  walked 
out  under  steam  beautifully.  The  wind  afterward 
hauled  west  and  west  southerly.  It  rained  some 
during  the  night  and  most  of  the  morning.  In  the 
morning  we  made  the  land,  first  in  the  interior  high  and 
then  lowland.  We  were  under  steam  all  night.  At 
meridian  it  was  squally  with  rain  and  we  did  not  get  an 
observation." 

OFF  CHIRIQUI,  December  5th. 
"We  stood  in  for  the  land  and  made  what  we  sup 
posed  the  harbor  of  Boca  del  Torro,  with  the  rock  at 
entrance  to  indicate  it.  Fired  several  guns  and  looked 
in  vain  for  the  Fulton.  At  2.30  boarded  a  coasting 
schooner  which  said  she  was  bound  for  Boca  Torro,  that 
it  was  about  ten  miles  W.  N.  W.,  turned  the  propeller, 
and  went  on.  Clear  and  pleasant.  Came  up  with 


186  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

Boca  Torro  after  dark,  firing  a  gun  every  fifteen  minutes 
for  an  hour,  and  threw  a  rocket  in  hope  of  hearing  from 
the  Fulton,  We  concluded  the  Fulton  must  have  left 
for  San  Juan  del  Norte  and  steamed  on.  We  saw  th3 
range  of  high  mountains  on  the  shore  of  Costa  Rica. 
It  rained  some  during  the  night  and  a  heavy  swell  from 
the  north.  In  the  morning  the  mountains  of  Costi 
Rica  were  in  sight.  It  is  a  beautiful  range  from  five 
to  seven  thousand  feet  high." 

SUNDAY,  DECEMBER  6th. 

"Clear  and  pleasant.  Under  full  steam  for  Saa 
Juan  del  Norte.  When,  in  the  evening,  we  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado  we  looked  in  vain  for  the  Fu 
ton.  Kept  on  along  shore  and,  having  run  up  our  dis 
tance  to  Point  Arenas,  at  10.30  P.M.  hove  to.  Steamed 
during  the  night  for  an  hour  or  two.  At  daylight  the 
land  in  sight.  Stood  in  for  Point  Arenas,  and  made 
signal  for  a  pilot.  Mr.  Burton,  the  old  pilot,  came  on 
board.  Captain  Chatard  of  the  Saratoga  sent  a  boat 
with  the  pilot  and  came  himself  afterward.  He  was 
much  distressed  that  he  had  been  placed  under  orders 
of  an  indefinite  character  in  regard  to  Walker,  whom  he 
had  permitted  to  pass  him  in  the  steamer  Fashion  and 
land  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  then  permitted 
the  stores  and  munitions  of  war  to  be  landed  on 
Point  Arenas.  Had  he  prevented  the  landing  of  the 
stores  the  men  must  have  reembarked.  Walker  had 
attempted  to  seize  upon  the  stores  on  the  point  claimed 
by  the  Transit  Company  and  others,  and  had  been  pre 
vented  and  was  much  out  of  humor  with  Captain 
Chatard  in  not  allowing  him  to  have  his  own  way  in 
everything,  and  wrote  two  impertinent  letters  to  me 
about  him. 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER         187 

"At  11  A.M.  I  went  on  shore  to  see  Mr.  Cottrell,  our 
consul,  and  employed  him  to  send  a  boat  with  a  letter 
to  Lieutenant-Commander  Almy  of  the  Fulton  for  her 
to  come  forthwith." 

OFF  SAN  JUAN, 
Monday,  December  7th. 

"I  returned  on  board  at  2.30.  The  Brunswick  and 
Leopard,  English  ships  of  war,  had  arrived,  the  former 
outside  near  us,  the  latter  in  port.  When,  at  near  three, 
we  were  at  dinner  Captain  Ommanney  came  on  board 
and  dined  with  us,  and  soon  afterward  came  Captain 
Wainwright  of  the  Leopard  and  Mr.  Green,  the  English 
consul,  who  sat  down  with  us.  Then  came  Colonel 
Hornsby  and  Commodore  Fatchio  of  Walker's  army, 
with  a  letter  from  Walker.  I  gave  them  an  audience 
in  my  room,  read  the  letter,  told  them  the  tone  of 
that  and  of  the  previous  one  was  objectionable  and 
that  they  were  here  irregularly  and  had  none  of  my 
sympathy,  etc.,  etc.,  and  with  this  they  left  me.  In 
view  of  the  violation  of  our  laws  and  the  disgrace  to 
our  country  by  the  invasion  by  the  piratical  assem 
blage  on  Point  Arenas,  I  have  determined  to  displace 
Walker  and  have  taken  measures  accordingly.  It 
rained  hard  all  night  and  morning,  with  thunder  and 
lightning,  breaking  at  about  midday." 

OFF  SAN  JUAN,  AT  ANCHOR, 

Tuesday,  Dec.  8,  1857. 

"Cloudy  with  a  very  heavy  sea  setting  in.  The 
Brunswick  near  us.  At  two  Captain  Ommanney  sent 
an  officer  to  say  that  the  Leopard  would  leave  for 
Kingston,  Jamaica,  at  six,  and  offering  to  take  any 
commands.  We  had  nothing  but  our  thanks.  I  sent 
orders  by  the  Saratoga's  boat  that  she  should  haul  in 


188  LIFE   OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

abreast  of  Walker's  camp  and  as  near  as  she  could, 
and  anchor,  with  springs  on  her  cable,  and  have  her 
howitzers  in  her  boats  and  be  ready  for  any  service. 
At  8  P.M.  the  Leopard  came  out  and  anchored  near  the 
Brunswick.  At  4  P.M.  it  commenced  raining,  with 
thunder.  The  Fulton  arrived  at  5  P.M.  from  Bo'3a 
Torro.  The  Leopard  sailed  for  Kingston,  Jamaica,  at 
6  P.M.  A  very  heavy  swell  arid  raining.  At  daylight 
commenced  getting  out  the  boats  and  at  7  A.M.  to  send 
our  men  on  board  the  Fulton.  At  11  A.M.,  with  thiee 
hundred  of  the  crew  of  the  Wabash,  including  all  the 
marines,  and  with  the  howitzers  mounted  in  the  boa  :s, 
we  stood  in  for  the  harbor  of  San  Juan." 

WEDNESDAY,  DECEMBER  9th. 

"  "Anchored  off  San  Juan.  The  weather  was  clear 
and  pleasant,  the  sea  very  high.  We  anchored  the 
Fulton  near  the  Saratoga,  and  when  the  boats,  with  the 
howitzers  and  all,  was  in  readiness  we  got  under  way 
and  ran  alongside  of  Scott's  wharf.  The  broadside  of 
the  Saratoga  was  sprung  to  bear  on  Walker's  camp,  the 
launches  with  howitzers  were  posted  so  as  to  enfilade 
the  defenses,  and  the  marines  of  the  Saratoga  and 
Fulton,  as  well  as  the  marines  and  small-armed  men  of 
the  Wabash,  were  landed  and  paraded  near  the  fili 
buster  camp  and  ready  for  action.  With  this  dis 
position  of  the  force,  amounting  to  three  hundred 
besides  those  in  the  boats,  Captain  Engle  took  his  gig 
and  conveyed  my  letter  to  General  Walker,  demanding 
the  surrender  of  his  arms  and  the  embarkation  of  him 
self  and  followers  without  delay.  He  read  the  missive 
without  changing  the  movement  of  a  muscle,  and  then 
said:  'I  surrender  to  the  United  States.'  With  this 
Captain  Engle  commanded  him  to  haul  his  flag  down, 
which  was  ordered." 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER        189 

From  Commodore  Paulding  to  his  wife: 

FLAG-SHIP  WABASH, 
OFF  SAN  JUAN  DEL  NORTE, 
December  10,  1857. 

To-morrow  is  my  birthday  and  I  am  then  sixty 
years  old.  This  may  do  pretty  well  for  a  weakly  boy, 
but  I  have  something  else  to  tell  you  about.  The 
Saratoga  sails  for  Norfolk  to-morrow  or  the  next  day, 
taking  with  her  about  150  of  Walker's  officers  and  men, 
whom  I  made  war  upon  and  captured  here,  fortunately 
without  fighting  and  without  a  casualty  of  any  kind. 
Your  boy,  as  well  as  myself,  was  mixed  up  in  the  affair, 
and  he,  I  think,  wanted  to  fight,  but  I  did  not.  The 
fact  is  that  the  display  of  our  force  was  so  beautiful, 
and  the  evidence  of  discipline  so  complete,  that  there 
was  no  chance  for  the  filibusters.  We  were  told  that 
they  would  die  rather  than  yield,  and  our  minds  were 
made  up  to  subject  them  to  the  last  necessity  if  it  was 
forced  upon  us. 

The  Fulton  had  arrived  just  in  tune  and  we  threw 
250  of  our  men  on  board  of  her  and  stood  in  with  our 
howitzers  in  boats.  The  arms  and  some  of  the  men 
had  to  be  lowered  in  the  boats,  such  was  the  great 
swell. 

The  scene  at  landing  was  beautiful.  The  marines 
and  seamen  took  their  places  and  deployed  on  shore; 
the  gunboats  took  theirs  to  enfilade  the  camp,  and  the 
Saratoga  had  her  broadside  to  bear  upon  it.  There 
was  no  chance  for  them,  and  when  the  gallant  old 
Captain,  with  his  lame  legs,  presented  my  letter  demand 
ing  the  surrender,  Walker  at  once  acceded  to  it.  I  was 
rejoiced,  as  you  may  suppose,  to  see  his  flag  come  down, 
for  it  saved  much  pain  and  great  loss  of  life,  as  our  men 


190  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

would  have  destroyed  them  in  the  first  onset.  [ 
interchanged  several  messages  with  Walker,  the  object 
on  my  part  being  consideration  for  him,  but  at  last 
there  was  an  impertinence  that  offended  me  and  I 
commanded  his  instant  embarkation.  Upon  this  he 
came  to  see  me,  and  this  lion-hearted  devil,  who  had  S3 
often  destroyed  the  lives  of  other  men,  came  to  me, 
humbled  himself,  and  wept  like  a  child.  You  may  sup 
pose  it  made  a  woman  of  me,  and  I  have  had  him  i:i 
the  cabin  since  as  my  guest.  We  laugh  and  talk  as 
though  nothing  had  happened,  and  you  would  thint, 
to  see  him  with  the  Captain  and  myself,  that  he  was 
one  of  us.  He  is  a  smart  fellow,  and  requires  a  shar  3 
fellow  to  deal  with  him.  I  have  taken  strong  measures 
in  forcing  him  from  a  neutral  territory.  It  may  mak3 
me  President  or  cost  me  my  commission.  I  am  sure 
I  have  done  right,  and  if  there  is  not  a  full  justification 
it  is  because.  .  .  .  Besides  Walker  I  have  Hornsby,  his 
second  in  command,  and  Walker's  aide  on  board  the 
Wabash,  and  all  the  men.  I  shall  give  Walker  the 
chance  of  going  in  the  Saratoga  or  presenting  himself  to 
Marshall  Rynders  in  New  York. 

The  English  ship  Brunswick  is  anchored  near  us. 
Her  Captain  and  some  of  the  officers  witnessed  the 
surrender.  It  was  a  splendid  exhibition  of  a  sham 
fight.  The  officers  and  our  men  behaved  charmingly. 
Walker  tells  me,  with  the  positive  asseveration,  that  he 
considered  he  was  acting  with  the  knowledge  and 
approbation  of  the  President,  and  that  he  never  would 
have  embarked  in  the  enterprise  but  from  this  belief. 
I  cannot  credit  it.  ... 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING. 

Order  regarding  Nicaragua: 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER         191 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 
December  18,  1857. 

Sir:  Your  despatches,  Numbers  134,  135,  137,  138, 
and  139,  not  heretofore  acknowledged,  have  been 
received. 

The  Department  enjoins  upon  you  particular  vigi 
lance  in  carrying  out  the  instructions  heretofore  given 
you  in  relation  to  unlawful  expeditions.  In  doing  so 
you  will  be  careful  not  to  interfere  with  lawful  com 
merce.  But  where  you  find  that  an  American  vessel 
is  manifestly  engaged  in  carrying  on  an  expedition  or 
enterprise  from  the  territories  or  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States  against  the  territories  of  Mexico,  Nicara 
gua,  or  Costa  Rica,  contrary  to  the  sixth  section  of  the 
Act  of  Congress  of  April  20,  1818,  already  referred  to, 
you  will  cause  the  force  under  your  command  to  prevent 
it,  and  will  not  permit  the  men  or  arms  engaged  in  it, 
or  destined  for  it,  to  be  landed  in  any  part  of  Mexico 
or  Central  America. 

The  three  points  which  it  is  most  important  to  guard 
are  Aspinwall,  Chiriqui,  and  San  Juan  del  Norte,  and 
with  this  view  you  will  dispose  of  the  forces  under 
your  command  to  the  best  advantage. 

The  President  directs  me  to  inform  you  that  he 
considers  it  all  important  that  you  should  not  leave  the 
neighborhood  of  these  points  until  further  instructed 
by  the  Department,  which  you  are  hereby  ordered  not 
to  do  under  any  circumstances. 

Should  the  Saratoga  not  have  left  before  you  receive 
this,  you  will  suspend  Commander  Chatard  from  his 
command  and  order  him  to  return  to  the  United  .States 
to  await  the  further  action  of  the  Department.  You 
will  then  place  Lieutenant  George  T.  Sinclair  in  com 
mand  of  the  Saratoga,  with  directions  to  carry  out  the 


192  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

instructions  to  Commander  Chatard,  of  the  16th  ultimo, 
to  proceed  to  Norfolk. 

The  Jamestown,  Commander   Kennedy,  will  leave 
Philadelphia  early  next  week  to  join  you  at  San  Juan. 
I  am, 

Respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

ISAAC  TOUCEY. 
FLAG-OFFICER, 
H.  PAULDING, 

Comd'g  U.  S.  Home  Squadron, 
San  Juan  del  Norte. 

Letter  to  General  William  Walker  demand 
ing  his  surrender: 

U.  S.  FLAG-SHIP  WABASH, 
OFF  SAN  JUAN  DEL  NORTE, 
December  7th,  1857. 

Sir:  Your  letter  of  Nov.  30  was  received  at  Aspinwall 
and  sent  with  my  despatches  to  the  Government. 
That  of  Dec.  2  came  to  my  hands  yesterday. 

These  letters  surprised  me  with  their  tone  of  audacity 
and  falsification  of  facts. 

Your  rude  discourtesy  in  speaking  of  Captain 
Chatard  of  the  Saratoga  I  pass  without  comment.  The 
mistake  he  made  was  in  not  driving  you  from  the  Point 
Arenas  when  you  landed  there  in  defiance  of  his  guns. 

In  occupying  the  Point  Arenas  and  assuming  it  to 
be  the  headquarters  of  the  army  of  Nicaragua,  and 
you  its  commander-in-chief,  you  and  your  associates 
being  lawless  adventurers,  you  deceive  no  one  by  the 
absurdity. 

Lieutenant  Cilly  of  the  Saratoga  informs  me  that  he 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER         193 

was  in  uniform,  and  you  say  he  was  in  plain  clothes, 
when  you  threatened  to  shoot  him. 

Whilst  you  use  such  threats  it  may  be  of  some 
importance  for  you  to  know  that  if  any  person  belong 
ing  to  my  command  shall  receive  injury  from  your 
lawless  violence,  the  penalty  to  you  shall  be  a  tribute 
to  humanity. 

Now,  sir,  you  and  your  followers  are  here  in  violation 
of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  greatly  to  its  dis 
honor,  making  war  upon  a  people  with  whom  we  are 
at  peace;  and  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  public  and 
private  justice,  as  well  as  what  is  due  to  the  honor  and 
integrity  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  I 
command  you  and  the  people  associated  here  with  you 
to  surrender  your  arms  without  delay  and  embark  in 
such  vessels  as  I  may  provide  for  that  purpose.  I  am, 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING, 
Flag-officer  Com'g  U.  S.  Home  Squadron. 

To  GEN.  WM.  WALKER, 

Punta  Arenas. 

I  certify  the  above  to  be  a  true  copy. 
T.  PAULDING, 

Comt.  Secretary. 

In  this  letter  of  later  date  to  his  wife,  he 
says: 

FLAG-SHIP  WABASH, 
HAVANA,  Feb.  5th,  1858. 

"The  question  that  I  have  raised  pervades  the 
republic,  and  is,  in  every  view,  a  national  question. 


194  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

I  did  not  want  notoriety,  but  I  stand  upon  the  natior  al 
platform  now,  as  the  demagogues  would  say,  and  wot  Id 
like  to  see  by  the  action  of  Congress  and  the  country 
whether  the  pirate  who  dishonors  the  country,  or  the 
officer  of  high  trust  who  redeems  its  honor,  is  to  carry 
the  day  in  the  national  councils.  It  is  a  pretty  quar-el 
between  the  rights  and  the  wrongs.  I  am  told  that  in 
the  congressional  debates  I  shall  get  it  sharply.  I  hope 
I  shall  be  there  to  see  it.  Coarse  denunciations  will 
be  the  worst,  and  that  is  no  argument,  so  we  will  lot 
trouble  ourselves  about  it." 

SUNDAY,  Feb.  7th. 

"  To-day  I  received  orders  by  the  steamer  Isabel  to 
proceed  to  New  York.  I  shall  be  with  you  in  a  week 
or  ten  days.  .  .  ." 

H.  PAULDING. 

Letter  to  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Youngs  concern 
ing  the  capture  of  Walker: 

HUNTINGTON,  LONG  ISLAND,  N.  Y., 

December  3,  1858. 

My  dear  sir:  Since  retiring  from  the  command  of  the 
Home  Squadron  our  interviews  have  been  so  brief  that 
I  have  not  been  able  to  convey  to  you  as  I  desired  a 
somewhat  connected  narrative  of  my  proceedings  in 
the  disarming  of  Walker  and  the  consequent  vexations 
and  embarrassments.  In  the  discharge  of  my  public 
duties  the  first  object  was  to  meet  the  expectations  of 
the  Government  and  the  country,  and,  if  successful  in 
this,  I  might  look  with  confidence  for  the  cordial 
sympathy  of  my  neighbors  and  friends.  In  my  course 
of  public  life  I  have  aspired  to  no  higher  ambition  than 
this. 


HIRAM  PAULDING 

Commodore,  U.  S.  N. 

About  1857 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER         195 

The  leading  facts  are  known  to  you  as  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  last  year  and  I  will  simply  sketch  the 
programme  so  as  to  illustrate  what  I  desire  to  convey. 
First  of  all,  then,  my  flag-ship  Wabash  was  stationed 
by  the  Department  at  Aspinwall,  and  San  Juan  del 
Norte  was  assigned  as  the  station  of  the  Saratoga. 
Much  solicitude  was  felt  by  the  Government  in  Washing 
ton  in  regard  to  the  Filibuster  movement  in  the  South, 
having  for  its  object  the  invasion  of  Nicaragua.  The 
President  had  issued  his  proclamation  forbidding  the 
embarkation  and,  besides  all  other  precautionary 
measures  in  the  power  of  the  Government  to  prevent 
the  sailing  of  Walker  and  his  followers,  the  steamer 
Fulton  was  sent  to  Mobile  and  New  Orleans  for  infor 
mation.  The  emissaries  of  the  movement  managed 
their  affairs  in  such  a  way  as  to  deceive  Captain  Almy 
and,  after  his  arrival  at  Chiriqui,  where  he  had  been 
ordered  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  he  informed  me 
that  Filibusterism  was  dead  and  that  there  was  not  the 
least  probability  of  Walker's  leaving  the  United  States 
with  his  followers.  You  may  suppose  therefore  how 
much  I  was  surprised,  not  long  afterward,  to  learn 
from  Captain  Chatard,  of  the  Saratoga,  that  Walker, 
in  the  steamer  Fashion,  after  landing  fifty  men  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Colorado  River,  had  made  the  port  of 
San  Juan  and  under  the  Saratoga  guns  and,  in  defiance 
of  her  presence  there,  had  landed  himself  with  150  men 
on  Point  Arenas. 

The  Fashion  came  to  Aspinwall  and  Walker  informed 
me  by  letter  that  he  had  landed. 

The  circular  order  from  the  State  Department,  which 
you  have  doubtless  seen,  had  been  furnished  to  me 
and  to  each  commanding  officer  of  the  squadron. 
Although  its  commands  did  not  comprehend  my  taking 


196  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

these  marauders  on  foreign  soil,  yet  there,  on  an 
isolated  sand  bank,  I  found  a  set  of  lawless  men,  who, 
in  defiance  of  the  President's  proclamation  and  all 
the  requirements  of  the  laws  of  our  country,  evading 
the  vigilance  of  the  public  officers  at  home  and  in 
defiance  of  the  guns  of  the  Saratoga,  at  San  Juan,  sent 
there  to  prevent  their  landing,  had  disembarked  under 
the  American  flag  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  making 
war  upon  a  people  with  whom  we  were  at  peace.  They 
had  forfeited  their  rights  as  citizens  and  their  presence 
endangered  the  peace  of  our  country  and  interrupted 
its  commerce. 

In  the  broad  sense  of  the  word  they  were  pirates 
and  yet  claimed  to  be  there  with  the  sanction  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  What  could  I  do  but 
send  them  home?  The  honor  of  the  country,  law, 
justice,  and  humanity  left  me  no  other  alternative. 

I  have  been  charged  with  an  assumption  of  power, 
but  some  of  our  ablest  and  most  distinguished  men  of 
the  country  claim  for  my  justification  that  I  acted  in 
the  spirit  of  my  orders.  Then,  again,  I  have  been 
gravely  tasked  for  a  violation  of  the  soil  of  Nicaragua. 
Happily  I  have  had  it  in  my  power  to  place  upon  the 
records  of  the  Navy  Department  the  thanks  of  Nicara 
gua,  conveyed  through  its  president,  for  removing  these 
troublesome  people  from  her  territory. 

Whilst  Walker  and  his  men  were  being  sent  to  our 
ships  of  war,  the  river  steamer  Morgan  arrived  at 
San  Juan  from  Castillo.  She  had  been  captured  there 
by  Frank  Anderson,  who  commanded  the  party  that 
had  landed  at  the  Colorado,  and  had  on  board  at  the 
time  of  her  arrival  about  forty  persons  —  men,  women 
and  children  —  who  were  reported  as  prisoners  sent  by 
Anderson  to  his  chief,  Walker. 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER        197 

The  Morgan  had  belonged  to  the  old  transit  com 
pany,  had  been  seized  by  Walker  during  his  first  invar 
sion  of  Nicaragua,  was  taken  from  him  by  Costa  Rica, 
and  was  now  again  in  the  possession  of  this  Filibuster 
party  and  used  in  their  course  of  violence.  A  man  by 
the  name  of  McDonald  claimed  to  be  hi  possession,  as 
the  agent  of  Morgan  and  Garrison,  and  was  acting  as 
superintendent  of  steamers  under  the  orders  of  Wralker. 

McDonald  had  landed  from  the  Fashion  with  W7alker 
and  remained  with  him  at  Point  Arenas  until  the  cap 
ture  of  the  steamers  by  Anderson,  and  then  went  up 
the  river  with  an  order  from  Walker,  commanding 
Anderson  to  place  the  steamers  hi  the  possession  of 
McDonald.  I  therefore  identified  McDonald  as  one 
of  the  Filibusters,  sent  him  on  board  the  Saratoga, 
turned  prisoners  and  every  one  else  out  of  the  Morgan, 
and  placed  her  in  the  care  of  the  United  States  com 
mercial  agent  as  American  property.  The  suit  hi 
which  I  am  now  called  to  defend  myself  is  brought  by 
this  man  McDonald  for  turning  him  out  of  the  Morgan 
and  sending  him  with  other  of  his  comrades  on  board 
the  Saratoga. 

Mr.  Morgan  denies  that  McDonald  was  his  agent  or 
that  he  had  any  concern  with  him. 

Although  the  President  did  not  fully  approve  of 
my  disarming  and  sending  W7alker  home,  my  good 
intentions  are,  I  think,  admitted,  and  I  relied  with 
confidence  upon  the  law  officers  of  the  Government  to 
defend  me  in  this  and  other  suits  that  might  result 
from  the  transaction.  In  this  I  have  been  disappointed 
by  the  denial  of  the  Government  and,  besides  the  vexa 
tion,  you  may  suppose  that,  as  a  poor  officer,  I  am 
oppressed  and  embarrassed  by  the  unavoidable  ex 
penses  to  which  it  subjects  me.  I  cannot  but  feel  it  a 


198  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

hardship  that  in  my  old  age,  after  serving  in  every  grade 
and  in  every  part  of  the  world  in  every  class  of  public 
vessels  in  the  Navy  without  reproach,  I  should  at  this 
time  be  left  to  the  legal  persecution  of  lawless  men  for 
performing  a  difficult  and  painful  duty  which,  however 
regarded  by  some,  seems  to  have  met  the  almost  univer 
sal  approval  of  the  whole  country. 

In  a  matter  of  importance  like  this,  where  a  doubt 
has  been  expressed,  I  have  thought  it  due  to  myself  as 
well  as  my  friends  that  I  should  put  them  in  possession 
of  the  facts,  and,  in  doing  so  now,  I  am  assured  that  I 
may  continue  to  claim  your  respect  and  friendly  regard. 
With  much  esteem,  I  am, 

Faithfully  yours, 

H.  PAULDING. 
MR.  THOMAS  F.  YOUNGS, 
41  South  Street, 
New  York. 

Concerning  the  capture  of  Walker,  letter 
from  Wm.  M.  Caldwell: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

December  29, 1857. 

My  dear  Commodore:  The  whole  city  here 
is  agog  about  you,  your  late  gallant  doings,  and 
none  more  so  than  your  friends.  Old  Woodhull 
goes  about  shaking  that  big  head  of  his,  swearing 
that  as  for  his  part,  tho'  something  of  a  Fili 
buster  and  a  Walker  man,  nevertheless  you  did 
the  very  exact  thing  you  should  have  done  —  puts 
everybody  down  who  says  one  word  against  the 
capture,  and  declares  that  he  has  reason  for  knowing 
that  the  Government  will  sustain  you.  Although  the 


CAPTURE  OF  WILLIAM   WALKER         199 

news  only  transpired  the  day  before  yesterday,  yet  so 
public  is  everything  with  us  that  I  have  been  enabled 
to  pick  up  a  pretty  good  general  idea  of  opinions  upon 
the  subject.  So  far  as  I  can  learn,  the  feeling  among 
intelligent  persons  is  that,  although  in  the  abstract, 
according  to  Vatel,  you  infringed  upon  neutral  territory, 
yet  that  it  was  one  of  those  very  cases  where  such  an 
act  was  excusable,  nay,  most  desirable,  that  in  taking 
the  responsibility  of  the  capture  you  acted  as  a  states 
man  and  an  officer  and  that  it  was  the  very  thing.  As 
to  your  letter  to  Walker,  its  stern  and  terse  Anglo- 
Saxon  spirited  phrases  are  in  every  one's  mouth,  espe 
cially  the  delicate  and  new  method  of  stating  the 
hanging  alternative. 

At  first  blush  it  is  said  that  Government  will  disavow 
your  act  as  illegal  and  not  warranted  by  instructions, 
but  the  sober  second  idea  is  that,  in  view  of  your  report, 
peculiar  circumstances,  and  not  forgetting  the  Presi 
dent's  message,  they  will,  if  they  do  not  approve  the 
act,  at  least  do  nothing  adverse  to  you.  I  have  no 
doubt  if  the  Government  were  not  so  anxious  to  please 
the  extreme  South  wing  you  would  be  most  signally 
sustained.  One  thing,  my  dear  Commodore,  you  may 
be  certain  of,  and  that  is  that  in  the  hearts  of  the 
vast  majority  of  the  people  and  with  all  the  best  of 
them  you  will  be  applauded  and  admired  and  have 
gained  a  large  measure  of  their  love,  no  small  thing 
for  a  patriotic  heart.  I  know  that  the  English  here  are 
very  glad  of  the  course  you  have  pursued.  I  saw  your 
letter  or  report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  it  is 
everywhere  highly  approved,  excepting  always  by  the 
Southern  extreme  and  a  few  retainers  of  the  Govern 
ment.  I  learn  from  good  authority  —  in  fact,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  mentioned  to  a  naval  officer 


200  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

high  in  rank  that  whatever  he  might  politically  think, 
he  entirely  approved  of  your  conduct  officially,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  but  that  you  will  receive  with  your 
despatches  stronger  approval  even  than  that. 
With  entire  regard  and  respect, 

Very  faithfully, 

Your  friend, 
(Signed)    WM.  M.  CALDWELL. 

For  his  praiseworthy  maintenance  of 
treaty  obligations  and  neutrality  laws  Com 
modore  Paulding  was  promptly  relieved 
from  his  command  by  the  superior  authori 
ties,  who  disavowed  all  complicity  in  his 
resolute  act.  Commodore  Paulding  went 
into  retirement  with  the  sympathy  of 
millions  of  his  fellow  citizens.  During  the 
remainder  of  the  term  of  President  Buchanan 
he  was  officially  ignored. 

In  his  peaceful  retreat  at  Huntington  he 
possessed  his  soul  in  patience.  Although 
he  was  involved  in  annoying  lawsuits  by 
those  whose  plans  he  had  foiled,  he  was 
happy  in  the  consciousness  of  having  done 
his  duty,  and,  surrounded  by  those  who 
loved  and  appreciated  him,  he  bided  his 
time. 


CHAPTER  X 

FRIENDSHIPS 

PEBBLES  on  the  beach  are  not  more  surely 
shaped  and  formed  than  are  we  by  our 
surroundings,  and  the  unconscious  influence 
of  a  friend  is  sometimes  a  main  factor  hi  a 
life.  Among  the  old  letters  preserved  by 
Hiram  Paulding  are  several  from  his  kinsman, 
James  K.  Paulding,  and  William  Irving  — 
older  men,  whose  interest  in  the  lad  was 
fully  appreciated  by  him  and  whose  good 
advice  he  carefully  followed.  As  years  went 
on,  his  choice  of  friends  indicated  a  rare 
discrimination.  In  his  friendships  there  was 
a  steadfastness  rare  in  these  days  of  change. 
He  did  not  look  for  perfection,  but  certain 
traits  in  people  attracted  him  and  he  made 
the  most  of  their  good  points  —  developing 
the  good  and  restraining  whatever  seemed 
to  him  unworthy.  Thus  realizing  his  own 
weakness  as  common  to  fallible  man,  he 
brought  out  in  his  intercourse  with  men 
all  that  was  best  in  them,  and  when  others 

201 


202  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

called  attention  to  their  faults,  his  reply  so 
often  was,  "Poor  humanity, "  which  ex 
pressed,  as  we  well  knew,  his  broad  charity 
and  his  sympathy  with  human  weakness. 
Certain  traits  were  abhorrent  to  him.  He 
intuitively  recoiled  from  meanness,  bullying, 
deceit,  narrow-mindedness,  and  coarseness. 

Two  friendships  formed  in  early  life 
were  a  source  of  happiness  and  benefit  to 
him  in  many  ways,  and  were  unsevered  until 
the  life-line  went  out  of  reach. 

The  friends  were  Lieutenant  Josiah  Tatt- 
nall  and  Mr.  Siday  Hawes  of  England.  A 
letter  or  two  from  his  English  friend  prove 
his  value  as  an  intimate.  Paulding  often 
said  that  his  friend,  Mr.  Hawes,  who  was  a 
man  of  letters  and  of  high  culture,  had 
imbued  him  with  his  love  for  all  that  was 
best  in  life  and  literature. 

In  1818  we  find  the  name  of  an  officer  of 
the  same  rank  and  age  associated  with 
Paulding  at  the  time  of  the  fitting  out  of  the 
Macedonian,  and  from  that  date  to  the  last 
days  of  these  two  men  the  friendship  with 
Josiah  Tattnall  was  an  element  of  happiness 
in  the  lives  of  both.  An  indication  of  the 
friendship  was  seen  in  the  naming  of  their 
sons  for  each  other,  Paulding  Tattnall  and 
Tattnall  Paulding.  Among  the  treasured 


FRIENDSHIPS  203 

letters  are  many  from  Tattnall,  and  the 
subjoined  extract  from  Paulding's  sketch 
of  his  friend,  found  among  his  papers,  shows 
how  true  and  sincere  was  the  feeling  which 
at  the  last  becomes  almost  pathetic. 

"In  the  reminiscences  of  the  past,  now 
that  I  have  grown  old,  I  recall,  with  a  dear 
recollection,  the  possession  of  a  friend. 
None  but  those  whose  being  has  been  so 
closely  allied  to  that  of  another  man  as  to 
feel  that  what  was  dear  to  the  one  found  a 
sympathetic  pulsation  hi  the  heart  of  another 
can  realize  the  affection  that  I  gave  and  that 
I  received  from  my  honorable,  gentle,  gen 
erous,  and  brave  friend,  Josiah  Tattnall. 
I  have  never  known  what  merit  I  possessed 
in  his  estimation  that  secured  to  me  his 
friendship,  but  for  myself  I  can  say  that  I 
was  in  love  with  his  chaste  and  pure  cast 
of  character,  his  high-toned  and  chivalric 
honor,  his  generosity  and  gentleness  to  all 
humanity,  his  joyous,  guileless  playfulness 
with  his  friends,  and,  when  there  seemed 
occasion  for  an  exhibition  of  sterner  man 
hood,  his  unflinching  nerve  that  knew  no 
fear.  We  were  young  officers  of  the  Navy 
when  we  first  met,  about  the  year  1817,  and 
from  that  tune  until  we  had  both  reached 
the  highest  rank  known  to  our  Navy  were 


204  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

more  or  less  associated  officially  or  socially 
until  the  end  —  of  this  chapter  —  not  to  bt> 
named. 

"In  the  summer  of  1818  the  frigate  Mace 
donian,  then  at  the  Navy  Yard  in  Boston 
was  prepared  for  a  cruise  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  Tattnall  and  myself  were  orderec 
as  two  of  the  youngest  lieutenants.  While 
the  ship  was  getting  ready,  we  were  quite  at 
leisure  to  amuse  ourselves  in  our  own  way 
and  there  I  became  more  and  more  in  love 
with  his  charming  traits  of  personal  char 
acter.  Our  apartments  were  together.  We 
held  our  social  gatherings  in  the  middle  of 
the  day,  at  which  time  all  our  young  friends 
were  assembled  to  bandy  wit  and  jest  and 
fun,  and  in  no  such  gathering  of  youth 
could  the  elements  of  courtesy  and  kind 
ness  be  more  essentially  displayed  —  and 
to  no  one  were  we  so  much  indebted  for  our 
happy  hours  as  to  our  young  Georgian 
Lieutenant.  We  sailed  in  September,  were 
wrecked  in  a  hurricane,  repaired  in  Norfolk 
and,  passing  Cape  Horn,  arrived  at  Valparaiso 
in  Chile  about  the  month  of  May.  There, 
at  the  time,  was  a  fleet  preparing  to  invade 
Peru,  then  in  possession  of  Spain.  The  fleet 
was  commanded  by  Lord  Cochrane  of  Great 
Britain,  whose  officers  were  of  his  national- 


FRIENDSHIPS  205 

ity.    We  had   no    great    good-will   toward 
them." 

Then  follows  an  account  of  the  social 
passages  at  arms  that  would  naturally  result 
on  the  meeting  of  those  whose  official  rela 
tions  recently  had  been  those  of  hostility, 
and,  after  a  cruise  up  and  down  the  coast, 
their  term  of  duty  being  over,  the  two 
young  men  returned  to  the  United  States 
and  were  for  a  tune  together  at  Partridge's 
Academy,  after  which  they  both  made  a 
cruise  in  Commodore  Porter's  squadron, 
prepared  for  the  suppression  of  piracy  in  the 
West  Indies.  When  Tattnall  was  married, 
Paulding  was  his  groomsman.  When  they 
had  attained  the  rank  that  gave  them  sepa 
rate  commands,  their  meetings  were  less  fre 
quent,  mainly  social  and  domestic  ones  at 
the  respective  homes. 

Again  I  quote  from  "  Reminiscence ": 
"In  his  domestic  life  no  father  could  be 
more  kind  or  indulgent,  and  among  his 
friends  he  was  generous  to  a  fault,  and 
genial  to  a  charm.  He  was  highly  edu 
cated,  well  read,  with  a  retentive  memory  and 
a  vigorous  mind.  Temperate  in  eating  and 
drinking,  it  seemed  to  give  him  the  most 
exquisite  pleasure  to  contribute  in  every 
way  to  the  enjoyment  of  his  friends,  regard- 


206  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

less  of  personal  sacrifice  or  inconvenience 
to  himself.  In  these  attributes,  as  a  man  of 
sensitive  honor  and  a  scrupulous  gentleman. 
I  have  never  known  his  equal,  and  I  say 
this  after  an  intimate  association  through 
youth  and  mature  manhood.  Under  a  sense; 
of  wrong  or  open  defiance  he  was  impetu 
ous  and  fearless.  I  pass  over  a  period  of 
professional  life  and  arrive  at  a  time  painfu'. 
to  recall.  He  was  an  intensely  Southern 
man  in  his  feelings,  although,  as  a  boy 
educated  in  England.  His  father  and 
grandfather  had  lived  in  Savannah,  where 
they  were  greatly  beloved,  and  he  and  his 
older  brother,  Col.  Edward  Tattnall,  the 
last  of  their  race,  had  always  been  caressed 
by  the  people  of  Savannah,  and  in  Georgia, 
where  the  name  was  a  household  word. 

"  During  the  holidays  between  1860  and 
1861  my  life-long  friend  made  me  a  visit  of 
a  number  of  days.  The  aspect  of  public 
affairs  was  so  threatening  as  to  bring  to  me 
a  conviction  that  a  rebellion  was  at  hand. 
I  had  many  conversations  with  my  friend, 
begging  and  imploring  him  to  stand  by  the 
old  flag.  At  times,  I  hoped  to  have  suc 
ceeded  and  indulged  in  the  delusion  that  I 
should  do  so  —  going  with  him  from  my 
house  to  the  Astor  House  in  New  York,  where 


FRIENDSHIPS  207 

at  that  time  we  found  many  ardent  Southern 
men  who  inflamed  his  Southern  feeling,  and 
we  parted,  he  to  his  station  at  Sackett's 
Harbor  and  I  to  my  home  on  Long  Island. 
It  was  not  long  after  this  that  I  received  a 
brief  note  saying  he  was  going  the  next  day 
to  Washington  to  resign  and  go  South.  It 
was  a  great  grief  to  the  Navy,  where  he  was 
greatly  beloved. 

"  Soon  after  the  war  was  ended,  I  was  pass 
ing  in  Broadway  and  near  the  Astor  House 
recognized  my  old  friend.  My  salutation 
was,  'What  is  this  old  Rebel  doing  here?' 

"We  were  both  much  changed  during  the 
four  or  five  years  of  painful  excitement.  I 
prevailed  upon  him  to  go  home  with  me, 
where  my  family  received  him  as  though  the 
long  interval  of  separation  were  not  remem 
bered.  He  spent  a  few  days  with  me  and 
we  parted  forever,  with  an  occasional  inter 
change  of  a  few  lines.  The  dear  old  friend 
returned  to  Savannah  and  a  few  years  later 
passed  away." 

Recently  the  Admiral's  eldest  son,  Tatt- 
nall  Paulding,  visited  the  grave  of  his 
father's  dearest  friend  near  Savannah, 
Georgia,  a  beautiful  spot  and  lovingly 
cared  for  by  the  townspeople  who  were 
devoted  to  him. 


208  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

An  interesting  sketch  of  Commodore 
Tattnall's  life  was  published  in  Savannah  in 
1878. 

Another  old  and  tried  friend  was  Mr. 
Siday  Hawes,  an  Englishman.  Letters  from 
him  as  early  as  1823  were  found  among 
Paulding's  papers.  They  only  met  occa 
sionally  after  the  first  friendship  of  the  early 
years,  but  the  correspondence  never  flagged 
until  the  last  long  illness  came  in  1863,  and 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four  he  passed  away. 

During  Paulding's  early  service  in  the 
Mediterranean  he  chanced,  when  visiting 
Athens  with  some  of  his  brother  officers,  to 
find  a  young  artist  sketching  some  of  the 
ruins  there.  They  got  into  conversation 
and  presently  the  young  people  all  went  off 
together.  Long  years  after  this,  the  artist, 
then  a  gray-haired  man,  the  late  celebrated 
Professor  Morse,  came  to  the  New  York 
Navy  Yard  to  visit  his  old  friend,  and 
brought  to  the  Commodore's  daughters  the 
unfinished  sketch  of  the  Athenian  ruin  as  a 
souvenir  of  his  first  meeting  with  their 
father.  The  accompanying  photograph  of 
Paulding  is  from  one  taken  by  Brady, 
enlarged  and  colored  by  a  son  of  the  pro 
fessor,  Mr.  Charles  Morse,  who  gave  it  to 
Mrs.  Paulding. 


HIRAM  PAULDING 

Rear- Admiral,  U.S.  N. 

1862 

From  a  photograph  by  Brady.     Enlarged  and  painted  in  oila  by 
Charles  Morse 


FRIENDSHIPS  209 

From  Siday  Hawes,  Esq.,  to  H.  Paulding: 

COLTISHALL,  NORFOLK,  ENGLAND, 

June  1,  1824. 

My  dear  Friend:  I  hope  this  will  find  you  well  and 
happy.  I  am  happy  as  far  as  I  am  well  and  as  long; 
but  my  health  is  checkered  by  some  dark  spots.  Were 
it  not  for  this,  I  should  be  too  happy  but  there  is  some 
thing  of  this  sort  for  all  of  us.  On  the  whole,  through 
lif  e  I  have  had  nineteen  happy  days  out  of  every  twenty. 
And  who  can  say  more?  There  is  a  favorite  prayer  by 
Johnson  in  verse  which  strikes  my  mind  when  I  feel 
a  stupor  coming  on.  Here  it  is: 

"0  Thou,  whose  power  o'er  moving  worlds  presides; 
Whose  voice  created  and  whose  wisdom  guides; 
On  darkling  man  in  pure  effulgence  shine 
And  cheer  the  clouded  mind  with  light  divine. 
From  Thee,  great  God,  we  rise,  to  Thee  we  tend, 
Path,  Motive,  Guide,  Original  and  End." 

I  trust  I  shall  hi  time  grow  over  it.  Employment 
is  the  grand  secret  of  happiness,  and  indifference  is 
destructive  to  it.  Our  poet,  Byron,  is  lately  dead.  He 
was  a  singular  instance  of  a  superior  man  who  seemed 
to  care  for  nothing,  he  felt  no  interest  in  anything, 
unhappy  man.  Talents,  learning,  rank,  wealth,  fame, 
all  would  not  do,  he  never  seems  to  have  known 
happiness. 

"When  all  within  is  peace, 
How  nature  seems  to  smile." 

But  I  must  not  quote  any  more  poetry.  This 
country  is  in  a  prosperous  state,  but  in  the  race  of 
national  prosperity  the  United  States  beats  all  the 


210  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

world.  Go  on  and  prosper  and  be  a  beacon  of 
light  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  England,  bad  s.s 
her  commercial  policy  has  been,  is  now  retracing 
her  steps.  Our  Parliament  has  thrown  open  the 
wool  and  silk  trades,  our  corn  laws  will  follow. 
Some  hundreds  of  laws  have  been  repealed,  and 
hundreds  more  will  be,  which  were  made  in  times 
of  ignorance.  Our  Ministry  does  as  much  as  the 
country  will  bear,  yet  we  are  so  full  of  absurdities  that 
a  century  will  not  clear  them  away.  Altogether  I  ar  i 
sorry  to  see  America  carrying  farther  the  old  system  c  f 
"protecting  duties."  It  is  quite  a  mistake.  Were  th-3 
principle  carried  to  its  utmost  extent,  it  would  put  a  i 
end  to  all  foreign  commerce. 

The  North  American  Review,  an  excellent  work,  has 
well  argued  this  question.  Now  you  are  in  Chile, 
ascertain,  if  you  can,  the  existence  or  non-existence  of 
the  "zuemul"  or  "huemul,"  described  by  Molina  as  a 
kind  of  horse  with  divided  hoofs.  He  says  it  lives  in 
the  most  inaccessible  part  of  the  Andes.  Cuvier  says 
there  can  be  no  such  animal.  Some  other  naturalists 
have  doubted  it,  but  so  they  did  the  existence  of  some 
animals  in  New  Holland  till  they  saw  them,  as  the  duck 
billed  otter.  Tell  me,  too,  about  the  Chilean  horses. 
Come  and  see  me,  Paulding,  when  you  can.  I  will  do 
all  I  can  to  show  you  this  island. 

Ever  yours, 

(Signed)  S.  HAWES,  JR. 

COLTISHALL,  NORFOLK,  May  4,  1825. 
My  dear  Fellow:  Your  letter  of  October  last  gave 
me  very  great    pleasure.     The    mighty  ocean  and  a 
vast  continent  are  between  us,  yet  by  a  privilege  of  our 
being  we  still  hold  friendly  converse. 


FRIENDSHIPS  211 

You  give  an  account  of  those  Peruvians  which 
would  damp  many  a  man  who  is  full  of  ardent  hopes 
for  the  rising  liberties  of  South  America,  yet  I  believe 
and  know  it  to  be  just.  They  may  be  independent,  but 
it  is  not  the  work  of  a  day  to  be  free.  A  degraded  and 
ignorant  population  must  be  long  in  gaining  that  moral 
force  which  a  true  republic  should  have.  I  have 
seen  many  a  man  so  disappointed  by  what  he  saw 
in  Buenos  Ayres  that  he  swore  they  never  could  be 
free.  But  that  is  going  too  far  the  other  way.  God 
help  them  all.  "  Knowledge  is  power,"  says  Lord 
Bacon,  and  it  will  in  time  be  the  only  power. 

We  are  terribly  behind  hi  England  as  to  what  we 
should  be,  not  as  compared  with  any  nation  on  the 
continent  of  Europe.  But  political  economy,  the 
science  of  the  day,  is  revolutionizing  the  world.  I 
hope,  my  friend,  you  study  this  science  and  wish  I 
were  near  enough  to  send  you  some  of  the  best  works 
on  it.  Our  best  writers,  Smith,  Ricardo,  and  Mill;  and 
in  the  supplement  to  the  "Encyclopaedia  Brittanica" 
is  much  admirable  matter.  By  this  science  we  see 
that  the  interests  of  nations  do  not  clash,  that  nature 
has  given  different  gifts  to  different  nations,  and  that 
commerce  need  dread  no  rival.  The  richer  our  cus 
tomers  are,  the  better  for  us.  I  look  forward  with 
strong  hope  to  the  advance  of  mankind  in  civilization 
and  consequent  happiness,  nor  can  a  few  adverse  cir 
cumstances  frighten  me  out  of  that  hope. 

France  is  going  back,  Spam  is  in  misery,  cursed 
with  kingcraft  and  priestcraft,  but  in  spite  of  the 
"Holy  Alliance"  the  rest  of  Europe  is  advancing,  and 
a  reaction  must  take  place  of  the  many  against  the  few 
who  now  grind  them  into  the  earth.  The  literature 
of  Spain  is  worth  nothing,  priestcraft  has  destroyed  it. 


212  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

Cervantes  is  admirable,  Calderon  I  cannot  think  muc  i 
of,  Moratin  is  a  beautiful  comic  writer  full  of  nativa 
talent,  Melendez  is  a  poet  of  rather  high  class,  but 
a  want  of  freedom  is  a  want  of  everything.  What  i 
happy  thing  it  is  that  we  have  both  one  language. 
England  flourishes  beyond  all  precedent,  we  have  a:i 
excellent  Ministry  who  do  all  they  can  though  our 
aristocracy  holds  them  back.  I  am  pretty  well  and 
retain  my  fondness  for  travelling.  I  suppose  I  sha  1 
never  be  quite  settled  till  married.  When  that  takes 
place  you  shall  hear  all  about  it  from 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

(Signed)  S.  HAWES,  JUNR. 

ADMIRAL  JOSEPH  SMITH 

This  little  sketch  of  his  friend,  by  Ad 
miral  Paulding,  shows  his  estimate  of  him. 

"In  M.  Tooney's  contemplated  record  of  public 
men  the  name  of  Rear-Admiral  Smith  received  a  pass 
ing  notice,  and  I  would  respectfully  presume  to  make; 
my  contribution  of  my  knowledge  of  this  gentleman 
from  early  life.  He  served  as  a  lieutenant  on  board 
the  Brig  Eagle,  the  second  vessel  of  force,  in  the  fleet  of 
Commodore  McDonough,  in  the  battle  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain  in  1814;  was  wounded  and  taken  below  and  when 
his  wounds  were  dressed,  went  to  his  guns — against  the 
remonstrance  of  the  surgeon  —  and  fought  them  until 
the  enemy's  fleet  surrendered.  Subsequent  to  that 
he  was  left  in  command  on  the  lake.  After  the  war, 
passing  through  all  the  grades  in  the  Navy,  he  was 
assigned  to  the  Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  where  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  found  him.  His  duties  became 


FRIENDSHIPS  213 

manifold,  by  the  requirements  that  followed.  It  is 
no  disparagement  to  say  that  no  civilian  could  dis 
charge  the  duties  that  devolved  upon  the  Navy 
Department  at  this  interesting  crisis,  and  no  greater 
boon  could  have  been  bestowed  upon  it  than  the 
splendid  qualifications  possessed  by  Rear-Admiral, 
then  Captain,  Smith. 

"It  will  be  remembered  by  the  public  men  of  that 
trying  period  of  our  history  that  we  had  but  few  ships 
and  all  the  departments  of  the  Government  were 
filled  with  traitors;  and  treason  was  rampant  in  all  the 
surroundings.  Our  veteran  was  at  the  threshold  at 
this  crisis,  quick,  self-possessed,  and  full  of  knowledge. 
His  duties  were  various  and  onerous.  He  had  not  only 
to  decide  in  regard  to  the  building  of  ironclads  and 
other  ships,  take  direction  in  the  purchase  and  equip 
ment,  with  all  the  paraphernalia,  of  dock  yards,  but 
financially  he  had  to  decide  in  regard  to  expenses,  and 
adjust  accounts  of  contractors  and  others,  to  the 
amount  of  fabulous  sums,  with  a  record,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  of  unblemished  fame  and  a  character  for 
intelligence  and  high  honor  unsurpassed. 

"  In  the  midst  of  all  the  Admiral's  labors  —  for  he 
was  promoted  for  distinguished  service — his  son,  Joseph, 
a  very  promising  officer,  had  been  left  in  command  of 
the  frigate  Cumberland  when  assailed  by  the  ironclad 
Merrimac,  and  his  ship  was  sunk  —  going  down  with 
her  flag  flying,  young  Smith  calling  to  his  gallant  crew 
to  'Give  her  a  last  broadside/  as  the  waters  closed 
over  the  muzzles  of  her  guns,  officers  and  men.  Admi 
ral  Smith  is  now  upward  of  eighty  and,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  some  physical  infirmities  incident  to  his  years, 
is  strong  and  well  and,  as  it  is  with  him  now,  is  equal  to 
the  performance  of  any  ministerial  duties  that  belong 


214  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

to  his  profession,  and  would  be  invaluable  to  the  naval 
service  in  the  Navy  Department. 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING." 

Letter  from  Commodore  Joseph  Smith: 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 
Dec.   24,   1861. 

My  dear  Commodore:  Yours  of  the  22d  has  but  this 
moment  come  to  hand.  The  style  and  eloquence  of 
your  letter  shows  it  to  be  a  Sunday  production.  I  have 
to  write  with  parties  buzzing  all  sorts  of  gimcracks  in 
my  ears. 

B.  says  he  will  have  his  vessel  ready  in  thirty  days. 
Ericsson's  will  be  ready  in  that  time.  The  appropria 
tion  of  $12,000,000  for  ironclad  vessels  will  be  absorbed 
in  twenty  gunboats,  but  of  2000  tons  each.  I  had  no 
voice,  lot,  or  control  in  these,  but  before  they  go  ahead  I 
would  advise  that  the  turret  of  Ericsson  be  first  tried, 
as  I  am  somewhat  skeptical  of  its  performance,  tho' 
I  recommended  it  as  an  experiment.  The  twenty  gun 
boats  are  to  have  these  turrets,  but  not  exactly  on 
Ericsson's  plan,  and  not  as  good  a  plan  as  his  in  my 
humble  judgment. 

The  Frenchman's  propeller  is  about  ready  if  you 
know  how  near  about  means.  In  ten  days  she  will  be 
at  Hampton  Roads  for  Goldsboro  to  operate  with,  if 
anything  appears  to  be  operated  upon.  Your  reasons 
for  eschewing  hybrid  patriots  are  good.  Your  flow  of 
patriotism  is  well  supported  by  your  view  of  the  aspect 
of  our  affairs.  The  horizon  portends  heavy  squalls, 
but  there  is  a  silver  lining  to  the  blackest  clouds  and  I 
trust  the  sun  may  yet  shine  upon  us  and  descend  in  full 
splendor  over  our  United  States.  .  .  .  We  will  prepare 


FRIENDSHIPS  215 

as  well  as  we  can,  but  we  have  to  strain  every  nerve  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  tunes  and  the  first  act  of 
Congress  in  that  direction  is  to  put  sixty  or  seventy 
officers  ringed,  speckled  and  striped,  all  on  the  retired 
list,  then  call  upon  them  as  such  as  they  want  to  serve, 
and  it  may  be  under  a  junior.  This  is  a  bad  and 
unwise  stroke  of  policy  at  this  tune,  I  think. 
Yours  truly, 

In  haste, 
(Signed)  Jos.  SMITH. 

To  ADMIRAL  PAULDING, 
Huntingon,  L.  I. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C., 
June  24,  74. 

My  dear  Admiral:  Your  good  letter  of  the  21st  is  at 
hand.  Your  letter  is,  as  usual,  full  of  good  sentiments; 
you  take  events  as  they  come  and  make  the  best  of 
what  occurs  to  us.  We  are  verging  toward  the  ter 
minus  of  our  earthly  career.  What  next,  we  are  in 
ignorance  of.  Nobody  has  returned  of  those  departed 
to  give  us  tidings  of  the  future.  "To  err  is  human," 
and  we  are  born  to  error,  more  or  less,  but  let  us  hope 
our  future  may  be  happy  and  beg  for  forgiveness  of  all 
our  shortcomings  here.  I  purpose,  God  willing,  to  leave 
here  on  Monday  next  for  South  Duxbury.  I  cannot 
agreeably  pass  the  hot  season  here.  Though  very  lame 
I  attended  Shubrick's  funeral.  He  was  a  good  speci 
men  of  an  officer  and  an  honest  man.  Shubrick  and 
myself  were  born  in  the  same  year.  He  lived  to  be  the 
oldest  officer  and  I  am  left  as  an  old  sentinel  for  a 
short  time,  not  a  remarkable  character,  only  one  that 
fate  has  decided  to  keep  so  long  on  the  list. 

I  do  not  admire  the  status  of  our  national  affairs 


216  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

much,  but  hope  on  for  improvement.  Congress  a> 
usual  has  spent  seven  months  in  doing  its  work,  anc 
at  the  last  days  of  a  session  goes  it  blind  on  many 
subjects.  I  regret  that  our  Navy  is  not  in  a  more 
flourishing  condition.  We  have  no  commerce,  foreign 
ers  do  all  our  carrying  trade,  and  sailors  have  become 
scarce.  We  must  do  something  to  make  a  Navy  o: 
our  prestige  as  a  commercial  nation  will  die  out. 
Now,  my  dear  old  friend,  I  must  stop.  My  daughter 
and  niece  join  me  in  love  to  you  and  yours. 

(Signed)  Jos.  SMITH. 

Letters  from  his  friend  of  Kalmia  Cottage, 
the  Hon.  C.  C.  Cambreleng,  show  the  toucli 
of  comradeship  of  a  country  neighbor  who, 
after  a  long  political  life  in  the  capitals  of 
different  countries,  found  happiness  in  his 
simple  life  on  West  Neck. 

HUNTINGTON,  Nov.,  1845. 

(After  giving  a  hopeful  view  of  the  stocking  of  the 
fish  pond,  and  the  condition  of  the  oyster-beds,  he  tells 
of  a  "hop"  given  at  his  house,  and  of  a  trip  across  the 
island  to  Babylon,  whence  he  returned,  "with  a  goodly 
supply  of  ducks,  redheads,  brant,  teal,  partridges,  and 
quail.") 

During  all  these  merriments  we  have  the  most 
extraordinary  and  beautiful  weather.  Such  spring, 
Bummer,  and  fall  you  never  witnessed.  Some,  in  the 
north,  have  had  two  crops  of  strawberries,  and  many 
of  our  trees  lost  their  leaves  and  began  to  bud  again. 

In  politics  we  are  quite  quiet.  Ten  days  ago,  one 
half  of  both  parties  did  not  know  there  was  any  elec 
tion  going  on. 


FRIENDSHIPS  217 

Our  last  accounts  from  Mexico  authorize  us  to 
believe  she  is  willing  to  open  negotiations  again,  settle 
boundaries,  indemnities,  etc.,  so  that  you  will  not  have  a 
chance  for  the  present  to  make  a  conquest  of  California 
nor  show  your  epaulettes  in  the  Hall  of  the  Montezumas. 
Oregon  seems,  however,  to  be  rising  like  a  black  cloud. 
At  present  it  is  only  talk,  but  by  and  by,  unless  other 
events  should  intervene,  it  may  be  something  worse. 
There  has  been  and  continues  to  be  a  great  deal  of 
undignified  bluster  on  both  sides,  but  war  is  a  contin 
gency  that  the  ministers  of  neither  country  would  desire 
to  bring  about,  however  unimportant  it  may  seem  to  our 
Western  roarers.  For  the  next  two  or  three  months  you 
may  expect  to  hear  a  great  deal  about  it,  especially 
when  Congress  begins  to  play  "  Nick  Bottom." 

Everything  on  West  Neck  moves  on  as  usual.  .  .  . 
We  are  all  well  and  my  wife  desires  her  sincere 
regards. 

Yr.  friend, 

c.  c.  c. 

In  1848  he  writes: 

"You  will  have  learned  probably  before  this  reaches 
you,  that  you  will  soon  find  a  new  lord  high  admiral  at 
the  helm  of  affairs,  whom,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  his 
friends  will  find  as  difficult  to  control  as  the  Mexicans 
did  on  the  Rio  Grande.  A  man  who  stands  to  be  shot 
at,  for  two  days  and  almost  two  nights,  as  he  did  at 
Buena  Vista,  will  not  easily  yield  his  opinions  to  poli 
ticians  around  him.  He  may  and,  I  think,  will  do  much 
good,  but  from  the  circumstances  under  which  he  is 
elected  and  the  hostile  materials,  North  and  South,  of 
which  his  Cabinet  will  probably  be  composed  much  har 
mony  cannot  be  expected.  If  he  permits  slavery  to  be 


218  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

introduced  into  New  Mexico  and  California,  placed 
under  our  protection  by  the  fortune  of  war,  and  where, 
too,  it  has  been  abolished,  he  will  ruin  the  Whigs  in 
the  free  States,  but  I  am  not  going  too  far  ahead. 

"You  speak  in  your  letters  of  your  trip  through 
Germany,  but  you  do  not  say  anything  of  the  old  wiae 
cellar  at  Bremen,  the  butt  of  120  pipes'  capacity,  EOF 
of  the  bodies  so  remarkably  preserved  in  the  cellar  of 
the  old  church.  I  was  once  in  Bremen  myself. 

"What  with  the  election,  B — being  busy  and  S — 
away,  I  have  had  very  little  sport  fishing  this  surmr  er 
—  so,  shorten  your  cruise,  come  home  and  enjoy  real 
life  with  us,  and  give  way  to  some  one  anxious  to  com 
mand  a  fine  ship  like  the  St.  Lawrence. 

(Signed)  Your  friend, 

C.  C.  CAMBRELENG." 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   SAILOR   AT   HOME 

A  DIGRESSION  from  the  official  record  of 
his  long  and  faithful  service  may  not  be  inop 
portune  here  as  we  glance  at  the  personality 
of  the  boy  and  man,  midshipman,  and  mature 
officer.  In  his  youth  there  was  little  prom 
ise  of  the  sturdy  physical  manhood  which 
subsequently  developed,  and  when  he  first 
reported  for  duty,  his  appearance  was  such 
as  to  indicate  little  ability  to  long  endure 
the  severe  exposure  of  a  sailor's  life.  He 
used  to  relate  that  shortly  after  joining  his 
first  ship  he  heard  one  of  his  brother  mid 
shipmen  remark  to  another,  "That  fellow 
Paulding  won't  be  able  to  stand  it  long;  he 
looks  half  dead  now."  He  had  attained 
height  without  breadth  and  had  outgrown 
his  strength.  On  reaching  mature  man 
hood,  this  disproportion  disappeared,  his 
frame  had  expanded  in  proper  proportion 
to  his  height  of  six  feet  two  inches.  Straight 
as  an  arrow,  and  of  manner  most  attractive, 

219 


220  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

he  possessed  a  presence  rarely  excelled.  His 
face  indicated  that  strength  of  character 
which  his  promptness  of  action  constantly 
illustrated  in  the  many  trying  situations  in 
which  he  was  placed,  while  a  mild  blue  eye 
told  truly  of  a  feeling  and  gentleness  almost 
womanly  in  its  sympathy  for  misfortune 
and  sorrow.  In  charge  of  the  deck,  as  exec 
utive  officer,  or  in  command  of  the  ship,  he 
was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  but  when  off 
duty  no  one  could  be  more  unaffected  or 
genial. 

I  have  in  my  memory  two  pictures  of  this 
strong  man  —  one,  as  the  officer  in  command 
in  perfect  uniform,  dignified  and  formal  in 
manner,  unapproachable  except  on  matters 
of  duty;  the  other,  when  off  duty,  on  his 
farm,  in  an  old  Panama  hat  and  brown 
linen  coat,  welcoming  with  hearty  hand 
shake  some  visiting  neighbor  or  old  ship 
mate.  His  mind  was  eminently  judicial, 
and  in  the  controversies  constantly  arising 
on  shipboard  his  decisions  were  always  just 
and  unprejudiced.  The  government  of  a 
man-of-war,  when  properly  conducted,  is 
that  of  a  limited  monarchy.  It  may  reach 
the  verge  of  a  despotism,  or,  in  approaching 
other  extremes,  a  license  may  be  permitted, 
more  dangerous  and  quite  as  unhappy  in  its 


THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME  221 

effects  upon  those  whose  fortunes  have 
made  them,  for  the  time  being,  a  part  of  this 
little  kingdom.  The  ships  which  Paulding 
commanded  were  always  in  a  high  state  of 
efficiency,  and  prepared  for  any  service  that 
might  be  required,  and  the  community  was 
a  happy  one. 

One  of  the  younger  officers  thus  speaks  of 
him:  "Of  stalwart  frame  and  commanding 
presence,  he  combined  with  dignity  of  mien 
and  courtliness  of  address  the  greater  dig 
nity  of  intellect,  and  though  he  was  always  a 
strict  disciplinarian,  his  was  a  kindly,  benev 
olent  manner,  irresistibly  attractive  to  all 
seamen  who  ever  came  in  contact  with  him. 
His  officers  and  men  universally  admired 
and  respected  him,  and,  though  a  man  of 
most  positive  views  and  character,  it  is  not 
known  that  in  a  long  professional  career  of 
sixty-seven  years  he  ever  had  a  single  per 
sonal  enemy  hi  the  service." 

And  if  we  turn  to  the  Captain  off  duty, 
in  his  home  we  see  there  what  might  be 
termed  a  restful  activity  in  the  simple  life 
on  his  Long  Island  farm,  surrounded  by  his 
friends. 

In  1828  occurred  Paulding's  marriage 
to  Miss  Anne  Maria  Kellogg,  of  Flatbush, 
Long  Island,  which  was  a  most  happy  one. 


222  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

Well  educated  by  her  father,  who  was  a 
graduate  of  Yale  College,  of  attractive  per 
sonality  and  charming  character,  he  found 
in  her,  although  she  was  ten  years  his  junior, 
always  a  congenial  and  intelligent  companion, 
and  a  veritable  " helpmeet."  Their  first 
home  at  Flatbush  was  made  happier  by  the 
presence  of  his  sister  Susan,  whose  home 
was  at  last  with  her  loved  brother,  and  some 
happy  years  were  passed  there. 

His  sketch  of  the  Liberator,  "  Bolivar  in 
his  Camp,"  and  the  " Journal  of  the  Cruise 
in  the  Dolphin''  were  published  in  1834, 
when  orders  to  sea  took  him  from  home, 
and  some  years  were  spent  in  the  Mediter 
ranean  on  the  Constellation  and  in  com 
mand  of  the  Shark.  During  his  absence 
in  1832  that  fell  scourge,  cholera,  appeared 
in  Flatbush,  and  his  sister  Susan  was 
one  of  the  first  victims.  A  stone  in  the 
old  Presbyterian  churchyard  in  Flatbush 
tells  the  sad  story;  and  when,  not  long  after, 
his  second  daughter,  the  little  Susan,  died 
of  scarlet  fever,  his  wife  could  not  endure 
the  desolated  home,  and  with  her  eldest 
child  left  Flatbush  and  spent  some  time 
among  her  friends  on  Staten  Island  while 
waiting  for  her  husband  to  return  from  sea 
and  choose  a  permanent  abode. 


THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME  223 

About  thirty  miles  from  New  York,  on 
the  north  shore  of  Long  Island,  there  are  three 
land-locked  harbors,  their  shores  well  wooded 
or  under  full  cultivation,  as  the  case  may 
be.  Two  lighthouses  guard  the  entrance  to 
this  peaceful  retreat,  which  is  well  known  to 
all  coasters  seeking  shelter.  Here,  with  a 
sailor's  fondness  for  plenty  of  room,  on 
West  Neck,  near  Huntington,  Paulding 
purchased  a  farm  of  some  hundred  acres  or 
more  from  Mr.  Samuel  Bradhurst,  and  with 
his  wife  and  little  daughter  established  his 
home  in  1837.  This  home,  with  its  happy 
traditions  of  sixty  years,  is  a  spot  loved  and 
honored  by  friends  and  neighbors  far  and 
near;  and  here,  when  public  duties  were 
over,  he  found  a  haven  of  rest;  the  sailor 
turned  gardener  or  farmer,  and  delighted 
in  all  that  a  country  life  could  give,  super 
intending  the  cultivation  of  his  farm  with 
as  much  interest  and  intelligence  as  though 
it  were  his  only  profession. 

Few  country  places  can  boast  a  better  class 
of  farming  people  than  were  established  in 
this  part  of  the  island,  and  the  relations  with 
his  neighbors  were  always  of  that  pleasant 
kind  that  gave  little  anxiety  for  the  safety 
and  comfort  of  his  family  when  the  sailor 
was  absent  from  home  on  his  long  cruises. 


224  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

The  original  house  was  a  frame  building 
with  a  wing  on  one  end,  and  later,  another 
wing  was  added,  giving  ample  room  for  a 
family  of  six  children  who  considered  it  an 
earthly  paradise.  It  was  a  cheerful,  bright 
spot,  well  shaded  in  summer,  and  the  out 
look  from  the  front  of  the  house  gave  three 
glimpses  of  the  dancing  water  of  harbor 
and  mill-pond.  A  road,  passing  the  home, 
led  through  the  woods  to  a  beautiful  stretch 
of  pebbly  beach  extending  half  a  mile  or 
more  toward  Bouton's  Point. 

Fruit  of  every  kind  flourished  on  the 
farm,  and  Paulding  took  pride  in  having 
everything  that  farm  and  garden  could 
produce  of  the  best. 

During  his  long  cruises  the  devoted  wife 
and  mother  kept  at  her  post,  directed  every 
thing  as  he  would  have  it,  and  entered  into 
all  his  interests  with  heartiness  and  intel 
ligence.  Few  children  ever  found  in  a 
father  a  more  congenial  companion  and 
playfellow;  he  encouraged  their  confidence 
and  delighted  in  their  presence  and  happi 
ness. 

A  reminiscence  written  by  one  of  his 
children  will  perhaps  show  better  than  any 
dry  detail  how  he  was  regarded  by  them 
and  how  he  kept  himself  young  and  cheer- 


THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME  225 

ful  even  until  old  age  robbed  him  of  his 
activity: 

"I  imagine  that  few  military  men  have 
taken  the  place  in  their  homes  and  families 
that  our  dear  father  took.  When  freed  from 
official  duty  his  dearly  loved  home  greeted 
him  as  the  supreme  crowning  genius  of  it  all, 
and  he  was  so  loving  and  patient  with  us. 

"  When  lessons  were  over,  we  followed  him 
everywhere,  and  a  beauty  and  delight  were 
thrown  over  all  the  common  things  of  every 
day.  With  the  great  Newfoundland  dog 
at  our  side,  the  walks  through  the  woods, 
over  the  farm,  and  on  the  beach  with  him 
were  a  never-ending  delight.  His  mind  was 
stored  with  poetry  that  he  would  quote 
as  occasion  called  it  up  —  Milton,  Byron, 
Shakespeare,  Campbell,  and  Pope  all  have 
their  association  with  him  in  those  early 
days.  Or  he  would  tell  us  wonderful  stories 
of  the  lands  beyond  the  sea,  and  of  the 
people  living  there,  and  of  the  birds,  trees, 
animals,  and  fish  of  other  countries. 

"Our  own  home,  our  beautiful  'Peach 
Blossom,'  was  fairy-land  enough  when  it  was 
clothed  in  the  springtime  with  showers  of 
white  and  pink  bloom.  The  birds  loved  the 
old  place,  too.  Robins  and  chippies  built 
in  the  honeysuckles  on  the  piazza,  and  the 


226  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

orioles  hung  their  nests  in  the  great  smoke- 
trees  in  front  of  the  house.  The  catbirds 
helped  us  eat  the  strawberries  and  cherries, 
but  there  were  always  enough  for  all,  and 
Father  allowed  no  shooting  on  the  place 
lest  it  should  drive  away  our  song-birds  from 
their  homes.  When  the  winter  came  and 
the  fun  of  the  autumn  harvest  was  over, 
then  came  the  sleighing  and  coasting  and  the 
setting  of  traps  for  quail  and  rabbits,  and 
our  playfellow  was  the  leader  in  all  the 
jollity,  with  his  clear,  ringing,  hearty  laugh. 
I  think  now  I  can  hear  him  as  he  called 
through  the  woods  to  us  with  his  '  Poo- 
coo  '  -  -  a  sound  he  must  have  learned  to 
make  when  among  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
- 1  never  heard  it  elsewhere. 

"We  had  kindly,  pleasant  neighbors,  and 
they  were  all  his  friends  —  from  Northport 
to  Oyster  Bay.  Emerson  says,  'To  have  a 
friend,  one  must  be  a  friend, '  and  the  Good 
Book  has  a  saying  much  like  it.  It  was 
exemplified  here,  for  in  all  the  country 
round,  the  homes  seemed  to  smile  back  at 
him.  His  life  was  always  simple  at  home. 
He  had  no  desire  for  notoriety,  and,  although 
when  on  official  duty  he  mingled  freely  with 
the  highest  dignitaries  everywhere  and  was 
the  guest  of  princes  and  the  friend  and  inti- 


THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME  227 

mate  of  the  best  and  wisest,  he  was  equally 
accessible  and  friendly  to  all  who  sought  his 
acquaintance  or  were  in  need  of  his  aid. 
His  idea  of  fraternal  regard  for  all  made  him 
the  friend  of  high  and  low,  wise  and  ignorant. 
He  learned  something  from  all,  and  few  left 
him  without  feeling  that  the  hour  spent  in 
his  society  had  not  been  lost. 

"We  never  thought  of  disobeying  him  — 
for  with  all  his  humor  and  brightness  his 
dignity  never  forsook  him.  With  his  clear 
head  and  sound  judgment  we  always  felt 
that  his  decisions  were  just  and  right.  He 
never  feared  to  assume  responsibility  where 
it  was  necessary,  but  where  it  was  possible 
he  was  tolerant  of  the  views  of  others,  and 
would  rather  convince  than  compel.  His 
broad  charity  led  him  to  view  with  patience 
the  mistakes  and  blunders  of  others,  great 
as  might  be  his  indignation  at  the  unfor 
tunate  results.  His  was  a  buoyant  temper 
ament,  taking  a  cheerful  and  hopeful  view 
of  everything,  and  ready  for  fun,  but  he  had 
a  horror  of  practical  jokes,  and  of  puns, 
which  he  characterized  as  'the  lowest  order 
of  wit/  and  he  would  not  tolerate  the  use 
of  ' slang7  by  any  member  of  his  family. 
He  disliked  quarreling  and  discussion,  and 
when  one  of  us  would  go  to  him  with  a  story 


228  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

of  some  petty  wrong,  how  often  I  have 
heard  him  say,  '  Life  is  too  short  for  contro 
versy/  There  were  occasions  when  he 
felt  an  injustice  had  been  done  to  him  and 
to  those  he  protected;  then  he  was  not  slow 
to  take  every  just  means  to  right  the 
wrong/' 

Huntington,  one  of  the  oldest  villages  on 
the  Island,  was  a  place  of  interest  during  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  British  as  well  as 
American  troops  having  been  quartered 
there.  At  one  time  there  was  a  British 
encampment  on  the  old  burying-ground  in 
the  village,  the  soldiers  using  the  tombstones 
for  making  ovens  to  bake  their  bread.  And 
the  Episcopal  Church,  built  by  the  English 
S.  P.  G.  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne, 
was  riddled  with  bullets  fired  at  troops  who 
had  taken  refuge  there.1  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  harbor  lies  East  Neck,  where 
the  patriot,  Nathan  Hale,  was  captured  by 
British  troops.  A  stone  marks  the  place  of 
his  capture  and  recalls  his  brave  deed. 

Here  on  East  Neck  several  gentlemen 
of  independent  means  had  their  homes:  Dr. 
Thomas  Ward,  Dr.  Rhinelander,  Capt.  Wil 
liam  Stout,  and  others  made  a  pleasant  co 
terie;  and  Cold  Spring,  Northport  and  Oyster 
"Old  Times  in  Huntington/'  by  H.  C.  Platt. 


THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME  229 

Bay  held  neighbors  whose  friendship  was 
valued.  The  Hon.  C.  C.  Cambreleng,  once 
minister  to  Russia,  tired  of  his  busy  politi 
cal  life,  brought  his  charming,  attractive 
wife  and  built  a  pretty  cottage  on  the 
property  he  purchased  adjoining  the  Paul- 
ding  farm.  They  were  devoted  to  their 
"Kalmia  Cottage,"  and  were  a  great  social 
acquisition.  The  old  gentleman  was  fond 
of  fishing  and  often  he  and  his  friend,  Martin 
Van  Buren,  would  join  their  neighbor  and 
sit  for  hours  on  the  mill-dam,  fishing  for 
bluefish.  The  old  mill  was  a  picturesque 
and  an  active  place  in  those  days,  presided 
over  by  Mr.  Jarvis  Lefferts,  a  dignified, 
handsome  man,  with  kindly  smile,  ruddy 
face,  and  snow-white  hair,  and  while  the 
droning  sound  of  the  busy  wheels  mingled  with 
the  murmur  of  the  wind  hi  the  locust  trees, 
and  the  sunbeams  glinted  and  danced  in 
the  mill-pond  and  the  harbor  beyond,  care 
flew  away  and  a  restful  quiet  made  the  old 
men  young  again.  Now  all  is  changed. 
The  mill  is  silent,  and  a  causeway  stretches 
over  the  place  where  the  fishermen  sat. 
The  good  friend,  Jarvis  Lefferts,  and  his  sailor 
neighbor  were  long  since  laid  to  rest  near  each 
other  in  the  cemetery  on  the  hill.  A  great 
block  of  granite  surmounted  by  an  anchor 


230  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

with  the  names  and  dates  and  the  verse, 
"The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed/7  marks 
the  sailor's  resting-place,  and  beside  it  is  the 
stone  for  " Mother, "  with  the  words,  "Her 
children  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed. "  And 
on  the  miller's  monument  hard  by  is  a, 
garnered  sheaf  —  the  full  corn  in  the  ear 
Many  happy  years,  however,  intervenec 
between  these  early  days  on  the  farm  and 
the  year  1878,  when  the  final  resting-time 
came. 

Mrs.  Paulding  survived  her  husband 
fourteen  years,  living  with  her  children  in 
the  home  she  had  helped  to  make.  The 
subjoined  extract  is  from  the  local  news 
paper  at  the  time  of  Mrs.  Paulding's  death: 

"Mrs.  Paulding  passed  her  useful  life 
managing  the  affairs  of  the  farm  during  the 
Admiral's  long  cruises  abroad  with  rare 
skill  and  ability,  training  and  educating  a 
large  family  to  the  higher  duties  of  life  and 
bestowing  blessing  and  sunshine  upon  all 
with  whom  she  was  thrown  in  contact. 
Absolute  truthfulness  and  unselfishness, 
together  with  untiring  energy,  were  promi 
nent  traits  of  her  character.  As  loving 
wife,  devoted  mother,  and  faithful  friend  she 
has  fulfilled  the  highest  mission  of  life.  She 
has  gone  to  her  rest  mourned  by  all  who 


THE  SAILOR  AT  HOME  231 

knew  her.     'Her  children  rise  up  and  call 
her  blessed. ' J 

The  farm  was  sold  in  1904,  the  Kalmia 
property  having  long  before  passed  into 
other  hands.  The  beautiful  beach,  the 
favorite  walk  of  the  elder  members  of  the 
family  and  the  playground  of  the  children 
of  three  generations,  is  still  there,  but  all 
else  is  changed,  and  as  the  waves  on  the 
beach  have  effaced  the  footprints,  so  tune 
with  its  merciless  advance  is  quietly  wiping 
out  the  old  life  and  traditions  of  that  portion 
of  "West  Neck."  They  live  only  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  remember  the  old  days. 
Still  the  influence  of  these  brave,  earnest, 
faithful  lives  has  not  died  out,  nor  will  so 
long  as  their  children  live  to  uphold  it. 


CHAPTER  XII 

EARLY   DAYS   OF  THE   CIVIL  WAR 

THE  quiet  life  on  the  farm  was  not  of  long 
duration.  From  the  time  of  Lincoln's 
election,  threats  and  mutterings  indicated 
the  danger  of  civil  war.  Everywhere  a  feel 
ing  of  unrest  prevailed.  In  the  spring  of 
1861  Commodore  Paulding  was  ordered 
on  court-martial  duty  in  Washington,  and 
after  the  4th  of  March,  when  Lincoln's 
inauguration  developed  more  and  more  the 
sectional  feeling  among  Southern  men, 
officers  of  unquestioned  loyalty  were  called 
to  the  aid  of  Mr.  Welles,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  and  in  the  Bureau  of  Detail,  to  the 
charge  of  which  Commodore  Paulding  was 
assigned,  duty  most  distasteful  had  to  be 
discharged.  Events  crowded  rapidly  one 
upon  another,  and  such  necessity  for  prompt 
action  as  almost  to  exhaust  the  strength  of 
even  these  vigorous  men  before  the  summer 
was  over. 

232 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       233 

The  Commodore's  eldest  son,  Tattnall, 
who  had  been  with  him  as  secretary  during 
his  command  of  the  Home  Squadron,  was 
established  in  business  in  New  York.  On 
the  19th  of  April,  when  the  safety  of  the 
national  capital  was  endangered,  this  son 
hastened  to  his  father's  side,  accompanying 
the  New  York  7th  Regiment.  Seeing  after 
a  time  that  war  was  inevitable,  he  joined 
the  6th  U.  S.  Cavalry,  in  which  a  commission 
was  offered  him,  and  gallantly  sustained 
his  part  until  the  end  of  the  war,  being 
brevetted  lieutenant-colonel  in  1866. 

Until  September  Commodore  Paulding's 
duties  held  him  at  the  Bureau  of  Detail, 
Navy  Department,  through  that  stormy, 
disheartening  summer,  when  brave  and 
loyal  hearts  sickened  at  the  widespread 
confusion,  the  defection  of  many  who  held 
positions  of  trust,  the  wavering  supineness 
in  some  cases,  lack  of  promptness  in  others, 
and  the  general  lack  of  preparation  to  repel 
treacherous  invasion.  But  his  associates 
in  the  special  duty  assigned  him  were  stanch 
men  and  true,  among  them  preeminently  his 
old  comrade  in  the  Pacific  cruise,  Admiral  — 
then  Captain  —  Charles  Davis,  of  whom  he 
was  very  fond.  Captain  Maxwell  Wood- 
hull  was  also  with  him.  A  few  letters  will 


234  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

best  illustrate  the  conditions  prevailing  at 
the  time. 

Letter  from  a  loyal  naval  officer  of  Vir 
ginia: 

WASHINGTON,  Nov.  14th,  1860. 
My  dear  Commodore:  Your  very  pleasant  letter  came 
safely  to  hand  and  afforded  me  much  gratification,  as 
your  letters  always  do,  and  especially  to  know  that  you 
are  well  and  hearty,  and  your  family  well  and  prosperous. 
The  fine  season  for  the  farmer  has  bestowed  its  bless 
ings  upon  you,  for  which  I  congratulate  you.  May  it 
always  be  so.  I  begin  to  envy  you  and  our  Northern 
neighbors  the  tranquil  happiness  of  quiet  homes.  It  is 
not  so  with  our  people.  Fear  cometh  upon  our  people 

—  deep  and  angry  passions  surge  up,  and  revolution 
is  upon  us.     We  are  no  longer  the  happy  United  States 

—  the  wonder  of  the  world —  and  the  pride  of  thirty 
millions  of  the  most  prosperous  people  this  world  ever 
knew  —  gone,  gone,  gone,  and  none  so  base  to  do  them 
honor. 

I  could  tell  you  much  to  interest  you  if  you  could 
credit  the  relation.  But  you,  who,  like  myself,  would 
lay  down  your  life  for  our  imperial  nationality,  would 
be  utterly  incredulous,  and  therefore  I  shall  refrain. 
Suffice  it,  there  is  no  longer  in  fact,  though  there  be  in 
form,  a  United  States.  The  Government  will  take  no 
measures  of  a  hostile  coercive  nature  against  the  States 
who  withdraw  —  and  several  of  them  are  so  arranged. 
The  President-elect  will  take  none.  And  they  are 
determined  never  to  come  back.  I  do  not  credit  so 
great  an  evil.  I  will  never  give  up  the  ship  as  long  as 
the  flag  floats  —  but  I  am  not  blind  and  the  event  is  so 
sure  that  God  alone  can  avert  it. 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       235 

The  assemblage  of  a  National  Convention,  and  the 
abandonment  of  all  hostile  legislation,  the  repeal  of 
all  laws,  by  the  free  States,  hostile  to  the  slave  property, 
and  the  peaceful  possession  thereof  anywhere  in  these 
United  States  can  avert  this  great  calamity.  The 
accomplishment  of  these  purposes  is  a  remote  chance, 
and  just  as  remote  is  the  reunion  of  these  late  LTnited 
States.  I  give  you  reliable  information.  I  am 
opposed  to  this  issue  at  this  time,  in  this  way,  to  the 
death  —  but  the  information  is  as  true  as  I  am  true 
in  my  fidelity  to  God  and  my  whole  country.  Such 
is  the  madness  and  determination  of  the  people  south 
of  us,  that  the  man  who  counsels  moderation  even,  is 
lost  in  reputation  and  in  useful  influence.  May  God 
avert  this  great  plague.  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  Martha.1 
We  feel  her  loss  hourly. 

My  love  to  all  and  God  bless  you. 

The  subjoined  letter,  written  from  memo 
randa  made  in  1861,  explains  his  course  in 
his  action  at  Norfolk,  which  at  the  time 
was  misunderstood  and,  by  some,  severely 
criticized. 

GOVERNOR'S  OFFICE,  U.  S.  NAVAL  ASYLUM, 
PHILADELPHIA,  Jan.  25,  1869. 

MEMORANDUM. 

In  February  of  1861  I  was  employed  in  Washington 
on  temporary  duty  until  after  the  4th  of  March. 
Rebellion  and  civil  war  appeared  inevitable,  and  South 
ern  men  in  the  Departments  of  the  Government  were 

1 A  slave  he  had  freed.  When  free,  she  came  to  Mrs. 
Paulding,  who  had  been  kind  to  her  child. 


236  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

bold  and  defiant  in  speech  and  action.  Officers  filling 
high  and  responsible  positions  abandoned  their  trusi; 
and  went  South  or  lingered  about  Washington  for  their 
own  convenience,  and  some  filling  high  and  low  places 
were  questionable  in  their  loyalty  although  the}' 
remained.  The  atmosphere  of  Washington  seemed  to 
be  contaminated  with  treason  and  there  were  familiar 
spirits  devoted  to  the  Southern  cause  who  had  free 
access  to  the  departments  where  they  could  obtair 
whatever  information  it  might  be  desirable  to  convey 
to  their  Southern  friends.  Mr.  -  — ,  who  daily 
visited  the  various  rooms  of  the  Navy  Department 
assured  me  that  he  felt  highly  honored  in  being  the 
correspondent  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

It  may  be  inferred  that  much  injury  resulted  from 
this  state  of  things  and  not  the  least  was  the  com 
munication  of  our  naval  signals  to  the  Confederate 
Government. 

Whilst  this  condition  of  things  prevailed,  I  was 
invited  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  fill  a  place 
in  the  Navy  Department  which  I  twice  respectfully 
declined  and  on  a  third  occasion  he  informed  me  that 
it  was  the  order  of  the  President  that  I  should  do  so. 
It  therefore  became  my  duty  to  aid  the  Secretary 
in  putting  the  Navy  afloat  and  to  render  whatever 
professional  service  I  could. 

To  one  who  was  zealous  in  the  cause  of  his  country 
no  duty  could  have  been  less  acceptable  to  a  naval 
officer,  yet  I  justly  appreciated  the  trust  imposed  upon 
me.  Congress  appropriated  a  million  and  a  half  of 
dollars  for  the  building  of  ironclad  vessels  and,  as  no 
ironclad  had  ever  been  built  in  this  country  and  it  was 
necessarily  in  a  great  measure  experimental,  it  occa 
sioned  much  embarrassment. 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       237 

The  Secretary  had  directed  me  to  assemble  the 
chiefs  of  bureaus  to  discuss  and  dispose  of  this  as  well 
as  other  important  naval  matters.  Many  models  for 
ironclads  were  presented  for  our  inspection  and  all 
were  set  aside  with  the  exception  of  the  Monitor  and 
new  Ironsides.  Without  a  knowledge  of  ship-building 
or  the  construction  of  ironclads,  the  officers  assembled 
relied  very  much  upon  Mr.  Lenthal,  the  chief  of  the 
Bureau  of  Construction,  to  whom  the  subject  most 
appropriately  belonged,  and  they  were  not  without 
chagrin  and  disappointment  when  he  declared  it  was 
not  his  trade  and  refused  by  his  silence  to  give  either 
opinion  or  advice.  Without  knowledge  of  building 
ironclads,  nothing  was  left  to  us  to  carry  out  the  act  of 
Congress  but  to  exercise  our  judgment  in  the  selection 
of  the  models  and  then  depend  upon  the  pledges  and 
genius  of  the  contracting  parties  to  fulfil  their  promises. 

The  whole  responsibility  had  devolved  upon  Rear- 
Admiral  Joseph  Smith  and  myself.  I  advocated  the 
Monitor  because  the  amount  of  money  appropriated 
would  build  several  such  vessels  and  the  time  of  their 
construction  would  be  much  less  than  of  a  ship  of  larger 
size,  and  I  relied  especially  upon  the  genius  and  pledges 
of  Ericsson,  whilst  the  Admiral  claimed  for  the  new 
Ironsides  greater  power.  In  conclusion  the  Admiral 
and  myself  compromised  and  we  determined  to  build 
the  Monitor  and  new  Ironsides.  The  history  of  both 
vessels  is  known  to  the  Navy  and  the  country. 

In  April,  1861,  after  an  unsuccessful  attempt  had 
been  made  by  the  Department  to  get  the  steamer 
Merrimac,  then  ready  for  sea,  away  from  the  Navy 
Yard  at  Norfolk,  I  was  sent  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  to  communicate  with  Commodore  McCauley, 
the  Commandant  of  the  Yard,  and  to  instruct  him  to 


238  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

send  the  Merrimac  to  Hampton  Roads,  to  put  all 
the  small  arms  on  board  the  frigate  Cumberland,  and  tc 
take  every  precaution  for  the  safety  of  the  public 
property. 

The  Cumberland  was  then  lying  off  the  Hospital  and 
at  my  suggestion  was  moved  in  front  of  the  Yard.  A 
feeble  effort  was  being  made  to  put  coal  on  board  the 
Merrimac,  and  she  was  lying  with  her  head  up  stream. 
When  I  suggested  the  expediency  of  putting  the  coal 
on  board  more  expeditiously  and  the  winding  of  the 
Merrimac,  the  reply  was  that  such  a  movement  would 
give  offense  to  the  people  outside  and  that  no  more 
expedition  in  coaling  could  be  made.  With  this  my 
mission  ended  and  it  was  my  duty  to  obey  my  orders 
and  return  to  Washington. 

Before  leaving,  the  officers  of  the  Yard,  all  of  whom 
I  knew,  sent  Commander  Richard  L.  Page  to  say  to  me 
that  they  desired  that  I  should  say  to  the  President 
that  they  would  stand  by  the  Commodore  and  defend 
the  public  property,  but  that  they  were  all  Southern 
men  and  begged  to  be  relieved  by  Northern  officers. 
Commander  Page  informed  me  at  the  same  time  that 
he  knew  Virginia  was  going  out  that  night  and  that 
their  situation  would  be  very  painful.  I  lost  no  time 
in  returning.  The  President  was  in  Cabinet  meeting 
and  when  I  had  made  my  report  and  conveyed  the 
message  of  the  officers,  he  said  it  was  reasonable,  and 
directed  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  have  them 
relieved. 

It  was  too  late.  Virginia  went  out,  and  the  next 
day,  instead  of  keeping  their  promise  to  stand  by  the 
Commandant  and  defend  the  public  property,  the 
officers  of  the  Yard  abandoned  their  trust,  leaving 
Commodore  McCauley  alone.  When  this  information 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       239 

was  received  in  Washington  I  was  sent  for  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  ordered  to  proceed  to 
Norfolk  and  remove  all  the  ships  then  equipped  and 
the  public  property  that  could  be  moved  to  a  place  of 
safety,  and  to  destroy  what  could  not  be  moved  and 
return  to  Washington  with  the  utmost  expedition  for 
its  defense.  This  was  earnestly  enjoined  upon  me  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  the  President,  and  I 
fully  understood  its  importance,  knowing  at  this  time 
there  were  but  two  hundred  and  fifty  regular  troops  in 
Washington  and  they  scattered  all  over  the  city  in 
small  detachments. 

At  this  time  there  were  but  two  steamers  at  the  Navy 
Yard  belonging  to  the  Government.  One  was  the 
Anacostia,  a  miserable  tug  that  could  not  turn  round  in 
much  less  space  than  the  breadth  of  the  Potomac,  with 
out  capacity  or  any  quality  that  was  necessary  for  the 
service  I  was  to  perform.  The  Pawnee  was  the  other 
steamer,  efficient  and  ably  commanded.  The  Anacos 
tia  was  assigned  to  me,  which  I  declined,  and  only 
obtained  the  Pawnee  upon  earnest  solicitation  and  with 
the  promise  to  return  with  her  for  the  defense  of 
Washington  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment.  I 
took  on  board  two  hundred  marines,  the  officers  neces 
sary  for  the  ships,  and  sent  to  New  York  for  the  des 
patch  of  seamen  and  left  for  Norfolk  on  the  evening 
of  the  day  on  which  my  orders  were  given. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  I  arrived  at 
Fortress  Monroe  and  left  about  sundown,  arriving  at 
the  Navy  Yard  some  tune  after  dark.  The  Cumber 
land  was  anchored  in  front  of  the  Yard.  Upon  enter 
ing  on  my  duty  there  I  ascertained  that  the  great 
shears  of  the  Yard  had  been  cut  away  and  the  ships 
had  all  been  scuttled  and  had  sunk  so  far  that  the 


240  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

officers  sent  to  examine  them  informed  me  the  leak 
could  not  be  stopped.  There  were  neither  officers  nor 
men  to  be  found  in  the  Yard  with  the  exception  of  a 
small  marine  guard,  nor  could  the  keys  of  the  work 
shops  be  found. 

I  could  not  ascertain  by  whose  order  the  ships  had 
been  scuttled  or  the  great  shears  cut  away.  When  I 
inquired  of  the  Captain  of  the  Cumberland  why  it  had 
been  done  he  replied  that  batteries  were  being  thrown 
up  at  a  short  distance  from  St.  Helena.  Without  tho 
purchase  of  the  great  shears  neither  the  guns  nor  any 
other  heavy  article  could  be  removed,  and  without  the. 
ships,  now  sinking  past  recovery,  there  was  no  meam, 
of  transportation.  In  these  circumstances  it  appeareo 
to  me  that  the  only  course  I  could  pursue  was  to  bura 
what  was  left  of  the  sinking  ships  and  "  destroy  the 
property  that  could  not  be  taken  away."  I  accordingly 
made  my  arrangements  to  do  so  as  expeditiously  as  I 
could.  An  effort  to  break  the  trunnions  of  the  Dahl- 
gren  guns  failed.  When  the  preparation  was  made 
the  Pawnee  took  the  Cumberland  in  tow  and  when  out 
of  danger  the  signal  for  burning  was  given. 

I  had  thus  carried  out  my  orders  as  far  as  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  do  so  and  have  not  been  able  to  under 
stand  how  any  one  having  a  knowledge  of  the  facts 
could  find  fault  with  my  proceedings. 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING. 

Letters  from  Commodore  Paulding  from 
Washington  in  1861  to  his  wife: 

MARCH  1st. 

"To-day  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  my  bill 
passed  in  the  Senate  for  Filibuster-law  expenses,  and 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       241 

the  misfortune  to  have  the  land  stricken  out  in  the 
Nicaragua  decree.  Besides  Seward,  the  Cabinet  will 
consist  of  Messrs.  Bates,  Cameron,  Chase,  Wilson  or 
Welles,  of  Connecticut,  Montgomery  Blair  and  per 
haps  Mr.  Gilmer,  of  North  Carolina.  This  is,  I  am 
told,  nearly  the  truth.  I  have  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Mr.  Charles  Adams  and  his  charming  family,  of  Mr. 
Cameron  and  his,  and  to-day  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
Chase,  who  said  many  kind  things  to  me." 

MARCH  15th. 

"I  must  try  and  keep  you  informed  of  what  is  going 
on.  Every  one  is  patient  and  Commodore  Stewart 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three  is  strong  and  intellectual . 
It  wras  a  crying  shame  to  retire  him.  The  old 
gentleman  is  cheerful  and  pleasant.  He  says  Fort 
Sumter  should  have  men  and  provisions,  and  that  is 
what  we  all  say  and  are  ready  to  do.  The  Navy 
can,  and  wants  to  do  it  irrespective  of  what  General 
Scott  and  the  Army  may  say.  On  my  return  from 
the  Capitol  I  stopped  at  Powell's,  took  tea,  and  he 
walked  with  me  to  Willard's,  where  I  met  Captain 
and  Mrs.  Stout  and  the  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Edwards." 

APRIL  30th. 

"A  special  despatch  leaves  in  an  hour  and  in  the 
crowd  of  business  I  drop  you  a  line  to  say  that  all  is 
right  with  T.  and  myself.  Judge  Wayne  just  called. 
He  seemed  grave  and  taciturn.  Enquired  about  Mr. 
Cambreleng  and  made  his  visit  brief.  Everything  is 
quiet  and  we  have  no  fear  of  anything.  We  have 
martial  law  —  in  part.  Eleven  citizens  were  impris 
oned  yesterday  for  talking.  I  am  worked  in  a  way 
I  have  never  been  before  and  get  tired,  tired,  tired. 
Last  night  I  was  kept  up  till  midnight  and  was  at  work 


242  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

at  six  this  morning,  and  with  the  exception  of  tin  e 
briefly  taken  for  breakfast  and  dinner  and  five  minutes 
rest,  my  head  and  hands  and  heels  have  been  kept 
going.  In  ten  days  or  so,  besides  blocking  the  coas:, 
I  hope  to  block  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi.  .  .  .  T.  hi  s 
been  writing  at  the  office  all  day  until  now,  when  I  told 
him  he  might  go.  I  stand  it  quite  well  and  you  need 
not  be  concerned  about  me.  I  have  the  vanity  to 
think  that  I  am  doing  a  great  deal  of  good.  The  sequel 
will  show.  I  only  hope  I  may  have  strength  to  bra\e 
it  out.  My  heart  and  will  are  strong.  I  know  net 
how  many  troops  are  here.  It  must  be  more  thaa 
twenty  thousand.  The  Capitol  is  safe." 

MAY  3d. 

"The  Keystone  State  sails  to-morrow  for  New  Yore 
and  Lieut.  Commdg.  Trenchard  will  take  this  and 
send  it  with  his  endorsement  of  the  probable  time  of 
his  return,  that  you  may  write  by  him  if  you  please. 
There  are  thirty  thousand  volunteers  in  the  city  and  all 
the  time  they  are  coming.  I  was  told  in  confidence 
last  night  that  a  conspiracy  of  the  Southern  officers 
had  succeeded  in  putting  my  name  aside  and  placing 
that  of  Capt.  -  -  before  the  President,  but  whom 
he  and  Mr.  Welles  promptly  rejected,  insisting  upon 
having  me.  I  could  not  but  reply  to  him  that  I 
should  have  been  relieved  of  some  care  if  the  plot  had 
succeeded.  Mrs.  S.  and  her  sister  go  east  next  week 
and  I  shall  rent  their  house  and  establish  a  mess  here 
with  one  or  two  other  gentlemen.  With  kind  regards 
to  our  neighbors  and  love  to  the  dear  children,  "etc. 

MAY  2d. 

"T.  is  doing  more  good  work  in  my  office  than  he 
could  do  anywhere  else.  I  wanted  just  such  a  man. 


EARLY   DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       243 

Engle  wanted  to  go  to  sea,  but  there  are  enough  without 
him  and  I  want  his  head.  Sometimes  I  speak  briefly 
or  in  monosyllables,  and  one  matter  is  not  disposed  of 
before  two  more  are  pressing  on  me,  and  this  for  hours, 
my  mind  gets  muddy,  excited,  and  almost  confused. 
Don't  think  of  coming  until  I  break  down.  I  will  let 
you  know  if  I  need  you.  The  rumors  here  are  without 
end,  alarming  the  timid  and  sending  many  of  the  ladies 
away.  Thank  God,  I  have  not  been  alarmed  yet.  I 
am  charmed  with  your  noble  spirit  of  patriotism.  Be 
assured  I  will  try  and  have  you  feel  no  cause  to  blush 
for  your  husband  or  your  son. 

"  The  public  and  many  other  buildings  are  filled  with 
troops,  and  every  hill  is  an  encampment,  yet  we  have 
not  half  that  will  soon  be  here  and  while  this  is  going 
on,  the  Potomac  separates  us  some  two  or  three  hours 
from  the  same  kind  of  gathering  on  the  other  side,  and 
at  any  moment  some  chance  occurrence  may  bring 
these  hostile  elements  into  collision.  There  is  no  telling 
what  I  may  not,  from  my  position,  be  called  upon  to 
perform.  I  must  and  will  fill  my  place  manfully  in 
defense  of  the  Capitol,  the  flag,  and  the  Union,  and  have 
no  apprehension  of  the  result  to  myself  or  the  Repub 
lic,  tho'  sacrifices  may  be  made.  Although  the  sacrifice 
to  me,  personally,  is  not  inconsiderable,  my  honor,  my 
conviction  of  duty,  involving  all  that  I  hold  dear,  as  a 
public  man,  a  citizen  of  the  republic  and  the  father  of  a 
family  to  whom  it  is  my  duty  to  bequeath  a  Govern 
ment  that  will  secure  to  them  the  blessing  of  liberty 
peacefully  to  pursue  their  own  measures  of  happiness, 
are  sustaining  motives  to  incur  any  and  all  responsi 
bilities  that  devolve  upon  me.  T.  leaves  to-morrow 
and  will  escort  Mrs.  Stockton  and  her  sister  to  Phila 
delphia.  He  wants  a  lieutenancy  in  the  Army.  As 


244  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

times  are,  the  quarrel  is  not  likely  to  end  without  a 
succession  of  bloody  collisions,  and  ultimately  peace  will 
be  the  tribute  to  Northern  valor.  A  military  occupa 
tion  of  conquered  States  and  a  period  of  probation  will 
follow  before  any  reconstruction  of  the  Republic  can 
take  place.  This  is  the  view  I  take  of  it  now,  and  yet 
I  may  take  another  view.  My  old  friend  and  ship 
mate  Charles  Henry  Davis,  a  commander,  will  come  to 
help  me  in  the  office." 

MAY  7th. 

"As  things  are  now,  it  looks  as  though  every  man 
in  the  country,  soon  or  late,  in  some  way,  must  be  a 
soldier.  I  have  made  application  for  a  2d  lieutenancy 
for  T.  in  the  Sixth  U.  S.  Cavalry.  You  know,  my 
dearest  wife,  he  need  not  accept  if  you  do  not  want  him 
to  do  so.  It  is  so  much  better  to  be  an  officer  than  a 
private,  if  one  must  follow  the  military  profession. 
Major  Hunter,  who  will  have  the  regiment,  is  one  of  the 
most  amiable  and  pleasant  gentlemen  to  be  found." 

MAY   8th. 

"Washington  is  one  great  camp,  the  soldiers  are 
everywhere  —  by  and  by  we  shall  have  a  collision. 
Either  we  shall  have  the  advance  of  the  South,  which  I 
do  not  believe,  or  the  North  will  go  into  Virginia, 
which  is  not  improbable.  Stringham  now  has  vessels 
to  blockade  on  this  side,  and  we  send  some  for  the  Gulf 
and  more  will  follow.  A  terrible  effort  is  being  made  — 
yet  some  of  my  plans  are  not  carried  out.  I  am  for 
ending  the  war  in  a  year,  and  that  can  be  done  if  the 
Government  meets  the  spirit  of  the  North." 

MAY  llth. 

"I  trust  that  the  mail  may  be  uninterrupted  now 
and  that  you  will  receive  my  daily  notes  such  as  they 


EARLY   DAYS  OF  THE   CIVIL  WAR       245 

are.  There  was  music  in  the  President's  grounds  this 
afternoon  and  as  I  passed  along  there  was  a  gay  assem 
blage  of  young  and  old  of  both  sexes  and  it  looked  as 
though  there  were  no  war.  Yet  there  is  war  and  rebel 
lion,  and  soon  there  will  be  something  to  record  in 
history  that  will  stain  with  blood  the  records  so  peace 
fully  made  in  tunes  past.  We  had  in  the  last  day  or 
two  a  thousand  regulars  added  to  our  standard  here, 
half  of  these,  cavalry  fresh  from  Texas. 

"The  rebels  are  assembling  at  Richmond  and  estab 
lishing  there  a  foundry  and  manufactory  of  arms,  and 
it  may  be  that  our  first  move  when  we  feel  strong 
enough  will  be  in  that  direction,  to  claim  what  they  have 
stolen  at  Harper's  Ferry.  This  will  be  a  beginning  of 
the  end,  which  I  predict  will  come  to  pass  just  one  year 
from  this  time.  If  the  old  General  were  well  it  would 
be  a  less  tune.  Thirty  thousand  men  are  now  on  their 
way.  Considering  how  short  a  time  it  is  since  these  vol 
unteers  were  called  to  service,  it  is  a  most  splendid 
exhibition  of  the  citizen  soldiery.  They  are  all  anxious 
to  be  led  to  battle.  Alas,  alas,  for  poor  humanity. 
The  world  has  no  parallel  to  the  infamy  of  this  revo 
lution,  and  I  prefer  to  die  hi  its  subjection  rather  than 
to  live  in  its  toleration.  The  soldiers  are  not  only 
quartered  in  the  public  buildings  everywhere,  but  en 
camped  on  all  the  hills  in  every  direction.  WTien 
there  are  a  hundred  thousand,  and  perhaps  before, 
they  will  begin  to  move.  In  what  way,  of  course,  I 
cannot  tell.  They  should  keep  coming  and  moving  on 
like  the  tide  until  its  culminating  sweeps  everything 
before  it.  It  is  the  shortest  and  best  way.  It  will 
save  blood  and  treasure  and  carry  conviction  to  the 
hearts  of  true  men. 

Commodore  was  some  days  since  appointed 


246  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

to  command  one  of  the  squadrons.  We  cannot  hear 
from  him,  and  if  we  do  not  soon  I  shall  ask  to  take  his 
place.  I  am  here  ready  for  anything.  You  must  not 
complain  and,  I  trust,  will  not  concern  yourself  about 
my  safety  or  comfort,  and  least  of  all  do  I  desire  that 
you  will  come  here.  The  country  is  in  a  state  of 
transition  and  convulsion.  One  thing  one  day  and 
then  another.  It  is  my  duty  as  officer  and  man  to 
stand  to  my  guns  and  do  my  work  faithfully  and  well, 
and  that  I  honestly  intend,  and  your  presence  here 
might,  under  some  circumstances,  greatly  embarrass 
me.  I  have  now  a  very  able  man,  Charles  H.  Davis, 
to  assist  me,  and  after  awhile  may  be  able  to  step  out 
and  leave  him  in  my  place,  yet  I  am  constantly  made 
to  feel  that  much  is  expected  of  me  by  the  leading  men 
of  the  country.  This  is  to  be  the  center  of  military 
operations  and  you  are  not  very  well  calculated  for 
scenes  of  war.  The  weather  is  bright  to-day,  and  'all 
but  the  spirit  of  man  is  divine.' " 

MAY  15th. 

"This  morning  I  wrote  you  hurriedly  from  the  office. 
I  do  not  like  to  deny  you  and  myself  the  happiness  of 
being  here  together  with  a  large  house  and  every  com 
fort  as  far  as  any  ordinary  domestic  arrangement  can 
be  considered.  Yet  there  are  other  things  to  be  thought 
of,  of  which  it  is  well  for  us  not  to  be  unmindful. 
Although  in  the  President's  grounds  to-day,  I  am  told, 
there  was  a  good  show  of  ladies,  Washington  is  a  mili 
tary  camp.  The  streets  are  crowded  with  soldiers  and 
the  whole  city  bristles  with  bayonets.  I  may  be  so  cir 
cumstanced  as  to  require  your  presence,  and  then  you 
as  well  as  I  know  what  a  blessing  it  would  be,  and  in 
such  case  I  would  not  hesitate  to  ask  of  you  some 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       247 

sacrifice.  The  time  for  this  has  not  come,  and  sufficient 
for  the  day  is  the  evil.  I  feel  as  though  I  had  lived 
for  years  in  the  last  month  or  as  though  waking  from  a 
dream  where  the  mind  has  wandered  through  scenes 
divided  by  rational  thought  from  wild  and  extravagant 
absurdities." 

MAY  18th. 

"  Some  days  ago  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  get  a  place 
for  young  Hassler,  whose  father  lost  his  life  in  saving 
the  women  and  children  in  the  wreck  of  the  ship  on 
Fisher's  Island,  which  you  may  remember.  The  Doctor 
and  Maynard  were  on  board,  just  returned  from  a 
cruise  and  going  home  in  the  ill-fated  steamer.  It  is 
said  of  Maynard  that  when  he  had  accomplished  his 
task  and  approached  a  stove  on  the  shore  surrounded 
by  those  he  had  saved  —  his  clothes  stiff  with  ice  — 
none  would  make  way  for  him!  Without  a  mur 
mur  he  turned  away.  This  is  a  sad  commentary 
on  human  life  and  a  glorious  instance  of  silent  unre 
quited  heroism.  As  soon  as  M —  gets  into  the  Gulf  the 
whole  coast  will  be  blockaded.  I  have  all  my  plans 
for  supplies  of  every  kind  to  give  to  the  ships  every 
thing  necessary  for  their  comfort,  so  that  they  may 
never  be  diverted  from  then-  stern  purpose." 

MAY  23d  (MIDNIGHT). 

"I  have  just  returned  from  the  Navy  Yard.  At 
2  A.M.  ten  thousand  troops  move  to  the  Virginia  side 
of  the  Potomac,  eight  to  Arlington  Heights,  and  some 
two  thousand  from  the  Navy  Yard  to  Alexandria. 
The  night  is  clear  and  beautiful,  with  a  bright  moon, 
and  everything  as  quiet  as  your  own  dear  home.  The 
Seventh  Regiment  is,  I  understand,  to  be  a  part  of 
the  force  moved.  To-morrow  there  will  be  a  great 


248  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

stir.  It  seems  to  be  understood  that  something  is  to 
be  done,  without  a  definite  idea.  All  the  officers  anc 
employees  of  the  Government  have  now  to  take  the 
oath  to  support  the  Constitution  and  the  Union,  anc. 
there  will  be  many  who  will,  as  they  say,  'fly  the 
track.'" 

MAY  24th. 

"They  took  possession  of  Alexandria  and  Arlingtor 
Heights,  as  I  mentioned  in  my  letter  last  night.  Col 
onel  Ellsworth  was  assassinated  by  the  keeper  of  the 
public  house  whilst  coming  down  the  stairway  after 
being  on  the  roof  to  pull  down  the  rebel  flag.  The 
assassin  used  a  double-barreled  shot-gun.  The  Colone! 
was  shot  through  the  heart.  He  had  not  fallen  before 
the  brains  of  the  assassin  covered  the  floor  where  he 
stood,  pierced  by  half  a  dozen  bayonets.  Everything 
has  been  quiet  to-day  —  our  troops  are  fortifying  in 
both  places  —  some  prisoners  were  taken.  The  shipt 
will  all  soon  be  provided  with  officers  and  men.  Ex 
cept  what  we  buy  or  charter  we  have  now  only  the 
sail  ships,  three  or  four,  two  sloops,  and  a  brig  or 
two.  Then  the  whole  Navy  will  be  afloat,  and  these 
may  sail  in  a  fortnight.  Think  of  that  —  about  fifty 
vessels  of  war  afloat  in  six  or  eight  weeks  and  every 
thing  to  be  done  even  to  the  repairing  of  many  and 
opening  the  rendezvous  for  the  shipment  of  the 


In  August  Mrs.  Paulding  joined  the  Com 
modore  in  Washington,  their  friend,  Mrs. 
Stockton,  having  left  her  house  with  serv 
ants  in  their  care  during  her  absence. 
Some  extracts  from  Mrs.  Paulding's 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       249 

letters  to  her  children  at  "Peach  Blossom " 
may  be  interesting. 
She  writes: 

AUG.  20th. 

"I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall  find  out  anything 
about  hospital  needs  here  as  no  one  seems  interested 
hi  the  soldiers'  wants.  If  you  read  the  Times  yesterday 
you  may  have  felt  a  little  uneasy  about  Washington, 
and  it  may  be  true  that  the  rebels  intend  to  cross  the 
Potomac,  but  there  ought  to  be  enough  force  to  keep 
this  place  and  to  keep  the  road  to  the  North  open.  I 
should  not  wonder  if  they  closed  the  river." 

AUG.  22d. 

"It  is  now  nearly  eleven  o'clock  and  I  have  done 
nothing  since  breakfast  but  read  the  Sun  and  watch 
the  newly  arrived  soldiers  who  are  waiting  to  be 
reviewed  by  the  President.  Mrs.  S.  wrote  to  Father 
that  she  had  heard  from  Virginia  that  'they  intended 
to  concentrate  and  take  Washington.'  I  do  not  know 
whether  he  is  frightened,  but  I  am  not.  It  does  not 
seem  possible,  and  if  they  do,  I  have  many  companions 
hi  the  city.  I  did  not  think  I  should  be  so  little  timid. 
If  possible,  I  do  not  want  to  leave  Father,  for  he  really 
needs  me,  and  I  am  determined  to  enjoy  the  privilege 
of  being  with  him  as  long  as  possible.  Fretting  will  not 
make  affairs  any  better.  I  have  had  calls  from  some 
pleasant  people,  all  are  kindly  disposed  toward  me. 
Colonel  and  Mrs.  Heintzelman  called  yesterday.  He 
wears  his  arm  in  a  sling.  Genl.  Hunter  was  here  yester 
day,  but  Mrs.  Woodhull  had  taken  me  out  for  a  drive, 
and  I  did  not  see  him.  We  passed  the  camps  near  the 
Soldiers'  Home.  The  city  is  alive  with  soldiers,  but 


250  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

otherwise  very  quiet.  Father's  patience  is  sorely  tried. 
His  head  is  wonderful.  He  seems  to  have  each  one;s 
case  before  him." 

AUG.  28th. 

"We  listened  for  the  rebels  last  night.  It  was 
thought  a  fight  was  going  on.  General  McClellan  went 
over  last  evening  and  ten  thousand  men  the  day  before . 
The  rebels  have  advanced,  but  everything  is  quiet 
to-day." 

SEPT.  1st. 

"Returning  from  a  walk,  Friday  evening,  we  found 
Tattnall  here,  just  from  Pittsburg,  hungry  and  tired. 
Later  Father  took  us  to  Bladensburgh,  where  the  Sixth 
U.  S.  Cavalry  are  encamped.  It  was  a  lovely  day  and 
we  had  a  charming  ride  and  I  had  an  opportunity  o-; 
meeting  the  officers  and  seeing  a  little  of  camp  life 
T.  is  a  favorite  with  all  and  seems  to  fill  his  position  as 
well  as  if  always  accustomed  to  it.  They  have  neither 
horses  nor  arms  provided,  and  might  almost  as  well  be 
at  home.  He  looks  and  seems  well.  They  have  a 
beautiful  spot  for  their  encampment.  His  new  uniform 
has  seen  hard  service  and  is  almost  worn  out.  I  did 
not  leave  the  carriage,  but  had  my  audience  there." 

SEPT.  3d. 

"Yesterday  was  the  first  uncomfortable  day  from 
the  heat  since  we  came.  I  did  not  go  out.  Miss 
Dahlgren  spent  an  hour  here,  a  pleasant  one  for  me. 
The  day  before,  we  went  to  the  Navy  Yard  with  Capt. 
Dahlgren's  escort  and  lunched  at  our  old  house  with 
the  Captain  and  a  number  of  officers  and,  after  a  short 
call  on  Mrs.  Reynolds,  went  home.  In  the  afternoon 
I  called  at  General  Totten's  and  Mrs.  Woodhull's  and 


EARLY  DAYS   OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR       251 

when  I  came  home  found  Secretary  Welles  and  son 
here  —  and  a  constant  stream  of  visitors  were  here 
through  the  evening." 

SEPT.  5th. 

"Events  seem  to  be  turning  in  our  favor.  I  was  in 
a  state  of  excitement  all  day  yesterday,  from  the  rumor 
that  there  was  fighting  at  the  Cham  Bridge.  I  have 
not  the  slightest  fear,  but  the  thought  that  such  terrible 
carnage  is  going  on  near  us,  by  which  so  many  hearts 
are  wrung  with  grief,  cannot  be  considered  with 
indifference.  Captain  Woodbury  had  been  sent  for  at 
two  o'clock  last  night  to  hurry  to  the  Bridge.  As  we 
returned  home  at  or  after  eleven  last  night  we  saw, 
opposite  the  President's,  a  large  force,  and  General 
Heintzelman,  who  was  with  us,  found  they  were  leaving 
then*  encampments  around  the  city  to  go  to  the  Cham 
Bridge.  It  made  me  sad  indeed  as  we  watched  them 
maneuver  and  then  march  on  to  the  fight.  There  must 
have  been  near  four  thousand  with  knapsacks  and 
haversacks,  all  marching  in  the  dark,  no  music  only 
the  sound  of  the  heavy  tramp.  The  horrors  of  war  do 
not  grow  less  to  me  in  becoming  familiar  with  these 
scenes.  Captain  W.  thinks  now  that  Washington  is 
impregnable,  he  has  not  been  satisfied  before,  but  they 
have  erected  within  a  few  days  a  very  strong  battery 
that  commands  an  important  point.  The  secrecy  that 
pervades  every  movement  prevents  residents  from 
knowing  anything  and  we  get  more  news  from  the  New 
York  papers  than  in  the  two-penny  affairs  of  the  great 
Capital." 

SEPT.  10th. 

"This  is  the  day  we  hoped  to  leave  for  home,  but 
Father  can  fix  upon  no  day  to  start.  The  ironclads 


252  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

are  tedious.  We  hear  of  no  news  this  morning  although 
we  saw  three  regiments  on  the  move  before  breakfast 
this  morning.  The  time  must  draw  near  for  an  advance, 
but  no  one  knows.  I  went  yesterday  with  Mrs.  Wood- 
bury  to  Mrs.  Beale's  and  saw  the  balloon  again.  On 
our  way  to  the  observatory,  a  day  or  two  since,  we  saw 
the  balloon  just  over  the  camps,  and  when  we  went  on 
top  of  the  building,  with  a  glass,  we  could  see  it  very 
distinctly  resting  in  a  green  field  near  the  camp.  From 
the  observatory  we  could,  with  the  glass,  see  from  Ft. 
Washington  to  beyond  Georgetown  —  a  more  interest 
ing  view  I  never  saw.  I  could  see  the  different  forts, 
intrenchments,  army  parades,  in  fact,  all  that  was 
going  on.  It  was  a  large  and  extended  view,  I  disliked 
to  leave  it  until  I  had  studied  it  more  thoroughly,  but 
it  was  one  o'clock  and  the  sun  was  scorching  —  Captain 
Gilliss  is  now  in  charge  there.  (Another  full  regiment 
has  just  passed  with  a  fine  band).  Outside  the  walls 
are  acres  of  'reservations,'  filled  closely  with  horses, 
mules,  wagons,  and  ambulances  numbering  many 
thousands.  It  is  wonderful  to  see  the  number  of 
horses,  and,  in  fact,  everything  denoting  power,  that  is 
moving  onward.  Washington  is  a  vast  storehouse. 
T.  came  in  this  morning,  is  kept  very  busy  with  drills 
and  lessons.  Father  has  heard  many  nice  things  said 
of  T.  by  his  superior  officers.  He  is  well.  Father  says 
the  ironclads  will  be  more  tedious  than  he  thought.  I 
would  like  to  come,  but  do  not  really  like  to  leave 
him." 

(Signed)  A.  M.  PAULDING. 

As  matters  at  home  called  for  Mrs.  Paul- 
ding's  presence  she  reluctantly  left  her  hus 
band  and  returned  to  the  farm  to  prepare 


EARLY   DAYS  OF  THE   CIVIL  WAR       253 

for  whatever  might  be  in  store.  Shortly 
after,  Commodore  Paulding  was  ordered  to 
command  the  Navy  Yard  at  New  York, 
the  home  at  " Peach  Blossom"  was  closed, 
and  the  family  moved  to  the  quarters  of  the 
Commandant,  the  old  house  on  the  hill. 
There  the  work  for  hospitals,  commenced 
with  the  neighbors  on  West  Neck,  was 
continued  and  enlarged,  the  ladies  from  the 
various  quarters  in  the  Yard  meeting  at 
the  Commandant's  house,  and  many  boxes 
of  clothing  and  delicacies  were  sent  to  the 
hospitals;  and  officers,  ordered  to  fit  out  from 
New  York,  found  always  ready  hospitality 
awaiting  them  in  the  Commodore's  home. 
There  were  many  sad  partings  from  those 
who  left  flushed  with  high  hopes.  The 
remaining  years  of  the  war  were  full  of  care, 
sadness,  and  anxiety,  and  such  incessant 
work  day  and  night  as  sapped  the  strength 
even  of  this  vigorous  man. 

I  here  insert  a  glimpse  of  him  given  me  by 
an  officer  who  knew  of  his  work  there,  which 
in  some  measure  was  a  continuation  of  what 
had  been  commenced  while  in  Washington 
when  the  emergency  called  for  the  speedy 
construction  of  vessels  for  efficient  and 
immediate  use.  The  " ironclad"  idea  was 
in  its  infancy  and  different  models  were 


254  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

submitted  to  boards  of  officers  convened  for 
the  purpose.  The  accompanying  letters 
prove  his  interest  in  Ericsson's  monitor, 
which  he  had  endorsed  from  the  first. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SERVICE   AT   THE    NAVY   YARD,    NEW   YORK 
1861-63 

HERE  in  New  York,  to  the  principal 
Navy  Yard  of  the  United  States,  were 
brought  the  war  vessels  from  the  seat  of 
war  to  be  repaired.  New  ones  were  build 
ing,  merchant  vessels  were  purchased  and 
as  far  as  was  possible  were  adapted  to  the 
temporary  necessities  of  the  Navy.  All 
this  required  extra  force  working  night  and 
day,  the  overflow  extending  to  the  neigh 
boring  docks  and  workshops,  and  all  came 
under  the  direct  supervision,  control,  and 
wise  judgment  of  the  Commandant  of  the 
Navy  Yard.  Amid  all  the  confusion  inci 
dent  to  this  condition  of  things,  Admiral 
Paulding,  with  his  cool  head,  tact,  and 
extended  experience,  kept  every  item  in 
the  most  perfect  system  and  order,  and 
expedited  the  work  with  such  skill  that 
vessels  were  promptly  got  ready  and  were 
sent  to  the  front.  Hurry  calls  from  gov- 

255 


256  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

ernors  of  States  who  fancied  the  Confed 
erates  were  threatening  invasion  (and  in 
one  instance  from  one  who  knew  that  a 
Confederate  vessel  was  off  the  coast  of 
Maine)  were  made  upon  Paulding.  Secre 
tary  Welles  sent  him  numerous  telegrams 
asking  whether  he  could  not  cover  the 
eastern  coast  by  vessels  even  partially  in 
repair,  and  not  a  day  passed  without  tele 
grams,  almost  hourly,  calling  upon  him  for 
urgent  work  in  various  directions  which 
forbade  such  a  thing  as  healthful  rest  at 
any  time. 

No  commander  of  a  squadron  at  sea  had 
the  harassing  work  of  the  Commandant 
of  this  principal  station.  A  sea  commander 
had  his  fleet  to  care  for  and  direct.  The 
commandant  of  the  repair  yard  had  the 
care  of  all  the  Atlantic  fleets,  in  seeing  that 
such  vessels  were  fitted  out  in  the  least 
possible  time,  had  proper  crews,  were  pro 
visioned  and  supplied  with  ammunition, 
were  in  every  respect  fitted  to  cope  with 
the  enemy,  and,  even  after  all  the  war  vessels 
were  completely  equipped  and  sent  to  their 
respective  squadrons,  that  they  were  sup 
plied  with  all  the  provisions,  fresh  and  salt, 
and  with  the  ammunition  and  repair  articles 
which  would  prevent  the  necessity  of  a 


SERVICE  AT  THE  NAVY  YARD          257 

return  to  the  Yard,  thus  keeping  the  squad 
rons  in  an  efficient  state  without  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  Fleet  Commander.  Only 
the  experienced  naval  commander  can 
estimate  the  value  of  this  most  important 
work. 

There  are  few  men  who  are  fitted  for 
such  duty,  and  these  very  men  chafe  under 
it  because  their  wish  is  to  be  at  the  front, 
where  reputation  lies  in  conflict  with  the 
enemy;  but  what  officer  can  work  in  the 
field  with  unsuitable  or  defective  tools,  and 
where  is  the  naval  officer  to  be  found  (in 
the  United  States  at  least)  who  does  not 
recognize  the  master  guiding  hand  at  the 
dock  yard  who  places  in  his  hands  the 
means  of  fighting?  Admiral  Hiram  Paul- 
ding's  work  was  blessed  by  everybody.  Not 
by  the  Fleet  Commander  alone,  who  knew 
him  personally,  but  by  every  soul  on  every 
ship  who  found  the  ship  he  had  to 
fight  in  the  condition  which  an  experi 
enced  war  officer  and  sailor  would  pronounce 
"good." 

There  is  one  vital  point  in  Admiral  Hiram 
Paulding's  command  of  the  Navy  Yard  at 
New  York  that  has  been  little  written  of. 
The  modest  Admiral  would  be  the  last  man 
to  exploit  himself  and  speak  of  it,  but  had 


258  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

this  wise  gentleman  not  busied  himself 
personally  and  deprived  himself  of  nightly 
and  daily  rest,  there  would  have  been  no 
"Monitor  and  Merrimac  fight/'  so  much 
exploited  in  history  and  of  such  vital  inter 
est  to  the  United  States.  The  officers  of  the 
day,  the  officers  of  the  guard,  the  sentinels 
on  duty,  and  the  watch  force  of  the  Navy 
Yard  found  this  old  gentleman  at  all  hours 
of  the  day  and  night  forcing  forward,  with 
all  his  weight  of  pleasant  force  and  official 
power,  the  advancement  and  necessary 
hurry  in  fitting  out  the  Monitor,  then  called 
the  Ericsson,  in  order  that  she  should  reach 
Hampton  Roads.  Others  did  not  know 
what  this  Admiral  knew.  Official  matters 
are  not  always  made  public,  but  he  knew 
that  haste  was  necessary  and  that  this 
experiment  in  naval  science  needed  smooth 
conditions  to  reach  her  destination  in  time, 
apart  from  the  haste  required  to  have  her 
in  efficient  condition.  He  knew  that  the 
Virginia  (formerly  the  Merrimac)  was 
almost,  if  not  entirely,  in  a  completed  state 
and  threatened  the  whole  wooden  fleet  at 
Hampton  Roads;  and  that  if  this  Monitor 
experiment  did  not  reach  the  Roads  in  time, 
the  fleet  stood  in  jeopardy  of  destruction. 
He  therefore  spent  all  his  hours  that  could 


SERVICE  AT  THE  NAVY  YARD          259 

possibly  be  spared  in  expediting  the  Monitor. 
To  him  under  God  is  due  the  fact  that  she 
got  there  in  time.  It  would  have  been  just 
and  graceful  if  this  valuable  fact  had  been 
set  forth  by  Mr.  Welles,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  but  the  victory  swallowed  up 
many  facts,  and  certainly  no  one  would  ever 
hear  of  it  from  Paulding,  whose  modesty 
exceeded  all  his  other  good  points. 

A  telegram  received  on  the  night  of  March 
5,  1862,  countermanding  her  orders  to 
Fortress  Monroe  and  instructing  Captain 
Worden  to  "lose  no  time  in  proceeding  with 
his  vessel  direct  to  Washington  after  passing 
the  capes,"  was  withheld  by  Commodore 
Paulding,  who  had  private  advices  of  the 
danger  of  longer  delay  hi  the  despatch  of 
this  vessel  to  Hampton  Eoads.  This  en 
abled  the  vessel  to  confront  the  Merrimac 
on  the  9th  of  March  and  thus  end  her 
career  of  destruction. 

Another  valuable  trait  of  this  good  officer 
(and  this  trait  is  uncommon)  was  his  ability 
to  see  and  utilize  all  the  good  points  of  those 
serving  under  him,  and  he  had  such  tact  in 
this  that  he  won  the  love  and  hard  service 
of  the  men  he  used.  While  hi  the  command 
of  the  New  York  Navy  Yard,  Commander  — 
afterward  Captain  —  Richard  W.  Meade  was 


260  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

in  command  of  the  " Receiving  ship"  Nortii 
Carolina  lying  at  what  is  called  "Cob  Dock. " 
This  was  not  a  dock,  but  was,  with  the 
exception  of  an  acre  or  two,  under  control 
of  the  Ordnance  Department  of  the  Yard, 
a  mere  shell  to  mark  off  a  boundary  line 
and  keep  off  the  encroachments  of  the  river 
and  Wallabout  Bay,  and  was  a  place  where 
a  vessel  could  be  secured  and  out  of  the  wajr 
when  not  in  commission.  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
given  instructions  concerning  the  negroes  o: 
the  South  even  before  the  issuance  of  the 
proclamation  of  freedom,  and  scarcely  a 
vessel  arrived  from  the  South  that  did  not 
have  a  number  of  escaped  slaves  to  whom 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  vessel  bring 
ing  them  had  given  asylum.  These  negroes 
were  not  enlisted  when  received,  but  were 
upon  the  ship's  books  because  rations  and 
clothing  could  not  be  issued  to  them  other 
wise,  and  it  was  necessary  for  the  paymaster 
to  account  for  his  stores.  The  question  of 
caring  for  these  poor  people,  who  were 
homeless  and  friendless,  became  a  burning 
one.  Admiral  Paulding  found  in  Captain 
Meade  an  able,  wise,  and  vigorous  help  in 
this  matter. 

These    negroes    (called     "  contrabrands, " 
from  a  decision  of  Gen.  B.  F.  Butler,  the 


SERVICE   AT  THE   NAVY  YARD  261 

astute  lawyer  who  called  them  "contrabrand 
of  war"  at  a  time  when  a  quick  decision  was 
needed  in  the  case  of  escaped  slaves,  and  the 
loyal  people  wished  to  pacify  their  deluded 
brethren  of  the  South)  reached  New  York 
hi  such  numbers  that  quick  measures  were 
needed  to  provide  them  with  quarters. 
The  Navy  Yard  Channel,  churned  up  by 
the  constantly  crowded  condition  of  things, 
had  to  be  dredged  out  all  the  time  and  the 
contractor  made  money  at  both  ends  by 
carrying  away  the  rich  alluvial  soil  he 
dredged  up  and  selling  it  to  outsiders. 
Captain  Meade  wanted  to  make  solid  land 
out  of  that  Cob  Dock  and  thus  reclaim 
some  twenty  or  twenty-five  acres  to  the 
Government.  He  laid  his  plan  before  the 
Admiral,  who  saw  and  embraced  it  at  once. 
Here  was  a  rich  field  for  the  labor  of  the 
"contraband,"  keeping  him  out  of  mischief, 
improving  his  health,  and  adding  to  the 
value  of  the  station  by  much  needed  acreage. 
The  contractor,  whose  contract  did  not 
give  him  the  excavated  soil,  was  notified 
that  it  was  to  the  interest  of  the  Government 
that  the  scows  containing  the  soil  should 
not  be  taken  from  the  Yard,  but  delivered 
to  the  care  of  Captain  Meade,  who  would 
return  the  scows  to  him  empty.  He  made 


262  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

quite  a  bother  over  the  matter,  since  he  lost  a 
large  profit,  but  as  he  had  no  valid  claim  ha 
was  compelled  to  obey  the  order.  Moreover, 
in  those  days  the  interest  of  the  country 
was  everything,  the  interest  of  the  indi 
vidual  nothing.  A  tract  of  some  twenty  or 
twenty-five  acres  was  thus  in  a  very  short 
time  added  to  this  important  place,  where 
mere  mud  existed  before.  Captain  Meade 
employed  a  number  of  coast-survey  schoon 
ers,  which  were  lying  idle  in  the  slips  of  the 
Cob  Dock,  to  go  up  the  Long  Island  Sound 
for  sand  and  gravel.  All  the  ashes,  cinders, 
clean  rubbish,  etc.,  of  ships  at  the  Yard 
and  of  the  Yard  itself  were  requisitioned  to 
make  the  excavated  soil  of  the  channel  a 
solid  body,  and  to-day  the  Cob  Dock  stands 
a  monument  to  the  good  sense  of  Admiral 
Paulding  and  Captain  Richard  W.  Meade, 
for,  without  it,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
the  space  needed  at  this,  the  most  impor 
tant  naval  depot  and  station  of  the  United 
States.  Of  course  the  land  when  completed 
was  covered,  at  first,  with  cabins  and  shacks 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  "  contra 
bands,  "  numbering  at  one  time  nearly  2000. 
Drill  ground  was  afforded,  target  galleries 
established,  and  crews  were  thus  enabled  to 
go  on  board  their  ships  when  commissioned, 


SERVICE  AT  THE  NAVY  YARD         263 

prepared  in  great  measure  to  cope  with 
the  enemy.  The  importance  of  the  work 
cannot  be  overestimated.  It  was  accom 
plished  under  the  rules  of  sanitation,  pre 
sided  over  by  the  best  medical  skill  to  be 
found  in  a  profession  where  the  world  at 
large  furnished  the  school,  and  no  evil  result 
came  from  this  "  made  land,"  not  a  single 
case  of  malaria  obtaining  where  before  the 
work  the  "sick  list"  was  full  of  such  cases. 

During  the  administration  of  Admiral 
Paulding  at  New  York,  another  memorable 
event  took  place  in  which  his  cool  head, 
wisdom,  and  knowledge  of  war  problems 
were  of  paramount  benefit  to  his  country. 
A  war  problem  is  not  always  a  tactical 
collision  between  armies  or  fleets.  It 
covers  cases  where  public  disturbance 
amounting  to  riot  takes  place.  The  Draft 
Riot  in  New  York  in  1863  was  one  of  these. 
This  riot  was  not  an  ordinary  riot,  it  was 
a  political  riot,  and  the  loyal  people  of  the 
country  believed  that  it  had  its  leadership 
and  incentive  from  the  South.  If  no  actual 
Southern  leader  was  there,  the  "Copper 
head"  was,  and  he  was  in  collusion  with 
those  in  authority  in  the  South  and  the  plan 
was  matured  there. 

The    time     chosen   was   when   Lee    had 


264  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

invaded  Pennsylvania  and  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg  was  in  progress.  All  the  avail 
able  troops  of  New  York  had  been  ordered 
to  the  front  to  aid  General  Meade,  and  the 
city  was  thus  practically  defenseless.  Troops 
garrisoned  the  forts  and  the  Navy  Yard 
as  a  matter  of  course,  but  only  a  hand 
ful  could  be  spared  from  these  places  to 
take  care  of  the  city  even  in  its  one  need. 

The  Draft  Riot,  originally  an  objection 
by  certain  half-loyal  people  to  a  so-called 
unjust  demand  for  troops  upon  New  York 
over  other  States,  gathered  to  itself  the 
dangerous  classes,  who  came  from  under 
ground  and  everywhere  else  in  the  hope  of 
plunder.  It  may  be  true  that  those  who 
caused  this  riot  withdrew  from  it  when  it 
assumed  the  proportions  which  it  quickly 
took,  but  even  that  is  to  be  doubted  when 
it  is  considered  that  the  destruction  of  New 
York  City  meant  incalculable  gain  to  the 
rebel  cause.  The  Southern  aspect  of  this 
brutal  riot  exhibited  itself  chiefly  in  its 
attack  upon  harmless  and  inoffensive  negroes 
who  were  killed,  burned,  hanged  to  lamp 
posts  and  trees,  and  even  when  hanged  and 
dying  had  fires  built  beneath  them  to  sat 
isfy  the  fiendish  desires  of  their  murderers. 
The  colored  asylum  for  orphans  was 


SERVICE  AT  THE  NAVY  YARD          265 

burned  and  fires  were  started   everywhere 
in  the  city. 

Admiral  Paulding  was  called  upon  by  the 
Collector  and  Surveyor  of  the  Port  for 
assistance.  Of  course  application  to  the 
commandants  of  forts  had  been  promptly 
made  also.  The  Collector  had  been  threat 
ened  and  he  took  refuge  at  the  Navy  Yard. 
Paulding  promptly  despatched  a  battalion 
of  two  companies  of  marines  to  the  city  and 
placed  small  gunboats  with  light  arma 
ments  at  the  foot  of  the  principal  streets, 
their  commanding  officers  having  thorough 
understanding  as  to  quick  and  efficient 
movement.  At  first  it  was  thought  that 
the  battalion  of  marines  could  care  for  the 
United  States  Arsenal  as  well  as  attend  to 
their  other  work,  but  the  only  troops  in 
the  city  being  a  battalion  of  United  States 
Artillery  acting  as  infantry  and  a  battalion 
of  marines,  —  both  battalions  being  only 
two  small  companies  each,  —  a  company  of 
German  artillery  who  had  guns  and  no 
ammunition,  and  the  disabled  Veteran 
Reserves,  it  was  found  necessary  to  send  a 
naval  battery  of  howitzers  to  guard  the 
Worth  Street  Arsenal.  This  was  done. 
The  troops  were  ever  on  foot.  No  one  slept 
more  than  an  hour  at  a  tune  during  the 


266  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

eight  days  of  that  riot,  and  when  they  did 
sleep  or  eat,  it  was  on  the  stones  of  the 
street  or  a  convenient  brick  pile.  No  house 
or  other  shelter  covered  any  soldier  or  police 
man  during  that  period  and  the  police  were 
magnificent. 

Admiral  Paulding  during  that  time,  with 
all  his  other  important  work,  showed  how 
the  grasp  of  a  difficult  situation  was  easy  to 
him.  He  fed  and  cared  for  his  men,  relieved 
the  thorny  paths  of  the  situation,  and  so 
regulated  matters  that  those  terrible  eight 
days  were  made  fairly  easy  and  were  quickly 
forgotten,  so  far  as  the  hardships  were 
concerned.  When  he  got  his  own  sleep  and 
an  hour's  freedom  from  the  keenest  care, 
no  one  knows. 

Copy  of  telegrams  received  March  9th, 
Washington,  9.45  P.M: 

NAVY  YARD,  NEW  YORK. 

"Arrival  of  Ericsson  in  Hampton  Roads.  Fight 
between  her  and  the  Merrimac.  The  latter  driven 
back  to  Norfolk  in  a  sinking  condition." 

"The  telegraph  line  to  Fortress  Monroe  is  just 
completed  and  a  message  from  there  states  that  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Ericsson  last  night  she  was  attacked 
by  the  Merrimac,  Jamestown,  and  Yorktown.  After  a 
five  hours'  fight  they  were  driven  off  and  the  Merrimac 
put  back  to  Norfolk  in  a  sinking  condition." 


SERVICE  AT  THE  NAVY  YARD          267 

ASTOR  HOUSE,  10  P.M.,  March  9, 1862. 
To  ADMIRAL  H.  PAULDING, 

NAVY  YARD. 

I  send  you  herewith  the  latest  news  from  Fortress 
Monroe,  which,  so  far  as  we  know,  is  reliable. 

Yours  truly, 

G.  SWAN. 


FINIS 

PICTURE    OF   THE    HOME 

THE  years  of  '63  and  '64,  which  spread 
sorrow,  distress,  and  bereavement  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  left  few 
untouched.  The  official  life  continued  to 
be  absorbing  and  exhausting.  Paulding's 
counsel  was  sought  in  many  ways  for  means 
of  defense  where  danger  threatened,  and  his 
personal  anxieties  were  harassing.  His 
son,  Tattnall,  was  prisoner  of  war  in  Rich 
mond,  his  wife  was  seriously  —  it  was  feared 
fatally  —  ill,  and  his  " Peach  Blossom"  home 
one  February  night  was  burned  to  the  ground. 

Still  the  Christian  philosophy  acquired 
in  the  school  of  long  experience  did  not  fail 
him,  and  he  was  cheerful  and  hopeful, 
continuing  his  work  with  unabated  vigor, 
cheering  the  down-hearted  and  infusing 
hope  in  the  hearts  of  those  whose  husbands, 
sons,  and  brothers  were  at  the  front. 

The  ladies  on  the  station  met  on  stated 
days  at  the  Commandant's  quarters,  the 

268 


FINIS  269 

old  house  on  the  hill,  to  work  for  the  hos 
pitals,  and  many  valuable  boxes  of  clothing 
and  supplies  were  sent  from  there  to  the 
sick  and  wounded.  The  younger  son  of 
Captain  Meade  of  the  "Receiving  ship" 
North  Carolina,  a  marine  officer,  a  great 
favorite  with  all  on  the  station,  had  been 
made  prisoner  of  war  in  the  first  attack 
on  Fort  Sumter,  had  been  many  months 
in  prison  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  and  it  was 
feared  he  had  succumbed  to  the  rigors  of 
the  dreadful  life  there. 

After  many  weary  months  came  the 
spring  of  1865,  when  the  war  was  drawing 
to  a  close.  Great  happiness  had  come  to 
two  of  the  families  at  the  New  York  Navy 
Yard  in  the  exchange  of  Captain  —  now 
Lieutenant-Colonel  —  Paulding,  U.  S.  A.,  and 
Lieutenant  Robert  L.  Meade,  U.  S.  M.  C. 
Worn  by  hardships,  broken  down  in  health, 
half  starved  and  ragged,  these  brave  young 
fellows  came  home.  In  common  with  thou 
sands  of  others,  they  had  proved  their 
patriotism  and  taken  the  consequences. 
Time  would  show  whether,  when  recon 
struction  should  be  accomplished,  a  grateful 
country  through  its  Government  would 
show  appreciation  of  their  faithful  service 
and  their  sufferings  in  the  cause. 


270  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

But  their  homes  were  happy,  they  had 
returned  with  untarnished  honor. 

In  April,  1865,  Admiral  Paulding  was 
detached  from  the  Navy  Yard  and  went  to 
Huntington  with  his  family.  The  home 
was  being  rebuilt  and  they  found  a  tem 
porary  resting-place  in  a  cottage  on  the 
"Kalmia"  estate.  Two  of  the  daughters 
were  married  about  this  time,  and  when 
his  service  was  no  longer  needed,  Tattnall 
Paulding  resigned  from  the  Army  and  estab 
lished  himself  in  business  in  Philadelphia. 
In  1866  Admiral  Paulding  was  ordered  as 
Governor  of  the  Naval  Asylum  —  now  the 
Naval  Home  —  at  Philadelphia,  where  he 
remained  nearly  three  years,  after  which 
he  held  the  place  of  Port  Admiral  of  Boston 
for  a  time.  This  was,  in  a  way,  more  in 
the  nature  of  a  complimentary  position,  to 
add  to  his  slender  salary,  for  in  some  way 
Congress  had  done  great  injustice  to  some 
of  the  veteran  officers,  and  they  were  in 
their  old  age  much  straitened,  receiving 
far  less  than  their  juniors.  This  was  later 
corrected. 

Through  the  intelligent  and  assiduous  work 
of  the  devoted  elder  daughter,  the  "  Peach 
Blossom"  home  was  again  comfortable  and 
attractive.  The  mother's  health  was  par- 


FINIS  271 

tially  restored  and  the  old  sailor  at  last 
reaped  the  reward  of  his  labors  and  found 
rest  and  comfort  in  his  home,  enjoying  all 
that  was  possible  for  one  of  his  advanced 
years,  through  his  letters  keeping  in  touch 
with  the  few  old  friends  left  and  with  the 
world  outside,  and  helping  to  make  the 
home  a  place  of  delight  for  friends,  children, 
and  grandchildren. 

With  two  devoted  daughters  in  the  home, 
two  daughters  and  his  sons  happily  married, 
one  living  in  Philadelphia,  the  other  in  the 
cottage  on  the  farm,  the  old  people  were 
cheered  in  their  declining  years  and  enliv 
ened  by  visits  from  their  other  children  and 
grandchildren.  In  1878,  Oct.  20th,  beloved 
and  honored  by  all,  Hiram  Paulding  passed 
away.  Others  more  often  at  the  front  had 
dazzled  the  world  by  brilliant  deeds,  but 
wherever  duty  called,  his  response  had  been 
prompt  and  efficient  in  an  unusual  degree, 
and  in  his  whole  life  he  illustrated  that 
word  emblazoned  on  the  medal  given  his 
patriot  father,  " FIDELITY." 


APPENDIX 

JOHN  PAULDING  died  at  Staatsburg,  New 
York,  in  1818.  The  Corporation  of  the 
city  of  New  York  erected  a  monument  to 
his  memory  at  Peekskill  in  1829.  Hiram 
Paulding  wrote  to  one  of  his  father's  old 
neighbors  asking  information;  the  subjoined 
letter  in  answer,  from  Boyce,  a  man  of 
seventy-four  years  of  age  at  the  time  the 
letter  was  written,  thus  speaks  of  him  (we 
give  both  letters): 

Letter  from  Paulding  to  Boyce: 

My  dear  sir:  The  son  of  one  of  your  companions  of 
"seventy-six"  takes  the  liberty  to  address  you,  presum 
ing  on  the  fraternal  association  that  must  have  sub 
sisted  between  the  patriots  of  Westchester  who,  hand 
in  hand,  passed  through  the  manly  yet  bitter  struggle 
for  national  independence.  I  am  the  son  of  John 
Paulding,  one  of  the  captors  of  Major  Andre,  and  with 
filial  regard  desire  to  preserve  from  oblivion  the  events 
of  my  Father's  life  as  connected  with  the  Revolution. 
It  is  also  due  to  the  heroic  efforts  and  the  devoted 
patriotism  of  the  farmers  of  Westchester  that  their 
achievements  should  not  be  lost  to  posterity,  but  that 
the  noble  example  should  be  handed  down  to  future 
272 


APPENDIX  273 

generations  who  shall  enjoy  the  blessings  it  secured  to 
them. 

No  people  of  the  country  suffered  more  than  the 
inhabitants  of  Westchester,  and  there  were  none  more 
firmly  or  faithfully  devoted  to  the  cause  of  liberty. 
There  is  now  no  historical  record  of  what  was  accom 
plished  by  you  and  your  compatriots  while  the  minutest 
particulars  cannot  fail  to  be  instructive. 

It  was  a  partizan  and  desultory  warfare  marked  by 
but  few  striking  incidents  such  as  would  find  a  place  in 
the  general  history  of  the  war,  but  nevertheless  quite  as 
important  hi  its  results  as  though  battles  had  been 
fought  and  victories  won. 

Personal  anecdotes,  instances  of  individual  bravery, 
patriotism,  or  virtue,  illustrate  the  character  of  the 
people  and  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  give  us  informa 
tion  more  interesting  and  more  useful  than  we  can 
glean  from  the  formal  history  of  remarkable  events. 
The  warfare  carried  on  in  Westchester  lives  but  in 
the  memory  of  a  few  of  your  companions  and  hi  a  few 
years  would  be  quite  forgotten.  I  have  been  told  by 
Samuel  Young,  of  Tarrytown,  and  by  others  that  there 
is  none  more  competent  than  yourself  to  furnish  a  state 
ment  from  memory  of  incidents  and  facts,  and  I  am 
induced  by  the  considerations  I  have  mentioned  to  ask 
that  you  will  oblige  me  so  much  as  to  do  so.  Every 
thing  will  be  interesting.  The  public  meetings  that 
were  called  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution, 
the  measures  adopted  by  them,  and  incidents  of  every 
land,  showing  the  character  of  the  people  down  to  the 
close  of  the  war.  If  you  could  favor  me  with  your 
personal  memoir  it  would  be  very  acceptable.  Should 
you  have  any  knowledge  or  recollection  of  the  time  and 
place  where  my  father  was  made  prisoner  the  second 


274  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

time  and  the  circumstances  that  led  to  it,  or  anything 
else  relating  to  him,  you  will  oblige  me  very  much.  I 
hope  the  motive  that  has  induced  me  to  address  you  so 
unceremoniously  will  plead  my  apology  for  doing  BO. 
(Signed)  HIRAM  PAULDING. 

Letter  from  Abraham  Boyce   to   Hiram 
Paulding,  written  in  his  seventy-fourth  year : 

20  COMMERCE  St.,  NEW  YORK. 
I  was  a  prisoner  with  John  Paulding  in  the  Old 
Sugar  House.  We  were  sometimes  allowed  to  wdk 
in  the  yard.  When  we  came  from  the  sugar  house  into 
the  yard,  we  were  counted,  and  again  when  we  returm  d. 
Around  the  sugar  house  was  a  pale  or  picket  fence  about 
as  high  as  a  man's  face  (five  feet).  The  English  were 
about  building  a  new  picket  fence  a  great  deal  higher 
than  the  old  one,  and  had  nearly  completed  it,  when 
one  evening  the  prisoners  were  let  out  into  the  yard 
as  usual.  The  sun  was  about  an  hour  high.  John 
Paulding  was  near  me,  and  leaned  against  the 
picket  near  a  space  where  the  old  fence  was  taken 
down  and  the  new  was  not  yet  quite  completed. 
The  sentry  was  stationed  on  the  outside  of  the 
fence  and  passed  the  open  space  as  he  walked  to  and 
fro.  Paulding,  who  was  watching  an  opportunity, 
walked  out  of  the  prison  yard  as  the  sentry's 
back  was  toward  him  and  deliberately  continued 
up  the  street  without  being  noticed,  or  particularly 
remarked  by  anyone.  He  continued  on  in  this  way 
until  we  lost  sight  of  him,  and  no  one  except 
the  prisoners  had  any  suspicion  but  that  he  was 
one  of  the  British  soldiers,  as  he  wore  at  the 
time  a  refugee's  coat  that  he  had  received  in  ex- 


APPENDIX  275 

change  for  his  own.  He  went  as  far  as  Spuyten 
Duyvil  creek,  where  he  was  concealed  by  a  friend 
until  night.  He  then  got  them  to  set  him  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  North  River.  Search  was 
made  for  him  in  every  direction,  but  without  get 
ting  any  trace  of  him.  We  were  at  that  tune 
on  an  allowance  of  two  ounces  of  meat  and  eight 
ounces  of  bread  per  day.  In  the  old  Sugar  House 
where  we  were  confined  there  were  no  fireplaces. 
A  few  handfuls  of  small  sticks  were  given  to  each 
mess  to  cook  with.  We  had  to  cook  on  the  floor 
and  the  smoke  in  the  prison  was  almost  suffocat 
ing.  The  prisoners  were  thrown  together  hi  the 
prison,  without  order,  and  without  the  least  care 
for  their  health  or  ordinary  comfort.  We  believed 
that  the  English  were  constantly  trying  to  poison  us. 
We  very  often  found  broken  glass  in  our  bread  and 
pepper. 

John  Paulding  was  taken  prisoner  the  first  tune  near 
White  Plains.  His  brother  William  and  a  man  that 
lived  with  us  were  in  the  field,  ploughing,  when  five 
Tories  or  skulkers  surprised  and  took  them  prisoners, 
carrying  them  off  as  well  as  the  horses.  At  that  time 
no  one  thought  of  going  out  without  taking  his  musket 
with  him,  and  John  Paulding  no  sooner  saw  the  retreat 
of  the  skulkers  than  he  fired  his  musket  and  pursued 
them.  The  firing  of  a  musket  was  sufficient  to  alarm 
the  country,  and  the  people  quickly  assembled  and 
pursued  the  retiring  marauders.  When  they  had 
approached  pretty  near  White  Plains,  where  the  British 
army  lay  encamped,  they  gave  up  the  chase  and 
returned.  John  Paulding  and  some  of  his  companions 
were  surprised  and  taken.  When  he  escaped  he 
crossed  the  North  River  in  a  boat,  and  at  night  stopped 


276  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

at  a  small  house  in  the  woods,  where  he  inquired  the  way 
to  New  York,  fearing  there  might  be  some  one  to  appre 
hend  and  take  him  back  to  prison  if  he  were  found 
travelling  from  the  city.  An  old  woman  told  him  the 
way  to  New  York.  He  had  married  Sarah  Teed, 
the  daughter  of  a  Tory,  whose  son  Isaac  was  with 
the  refugees  before  he  was  captured  the  last  time,  and 
was  living  on  the  farm  given  him  by  the  State.  Going 
out  with  a  party  of  his  neighbors,  they  encountered  a 
superior  number  of  refugees  near  Sing  Sing,  and  were 
defeated.  The  rest  of  the  party  had  been  taken,  and 
Paulding  was  making  his  escape  over  the  ice  when  he 
was  surrounded  by  several  of  the  refugees,  who  com 
manded  him  to  surrender.  He  consented  to  do  so  if 
they  would  give  him  quarter.  They  asked  his  name, 
to  which  he  replied,  "I  ran  as  fast  as  I  could."  They 
again  asked  his  name  and  he  made  the  same  reply, 
believing  that  his  life  would  pay  the  forfeit  of  his  name 
being  known  at  that  time,  such  was  the  hostility  his 
exploits  had  excited  against  him  on  the  part  of  the 
Tories.  He  was  finally  recognized  by  one  of  his  captors, 
who,  closing  upon  him,  he  received  a  severe  cut  with  a 
sabre  over  the  head,  which  laid  him  bleeding  and  sense 
less  on  the  ice  where  he  stood.  When  he  recovered 
from  the  stunning  effect  of  the  blow  he  found  himself 
surrounded  by  enemies  who  threatened  to  take  his  life. 
It  was  not  long  before  his  brother-in-law,  who  had 
never  seen  him  before,  came  in  and  saved  him  from 
further  violence.  Great  importance  was  attached  to 
the  capture  of  this  prisoner  and  such  was  his  reputation 
for  remarkable  address  and  activity  that  although  he 
was  severely  wounded  and  tied,  they  cut  the  waistband 
of  his  pantaloons  to  keep  him  from  running  away  from 
them.  At  Tarrytown  he  sent  word  to  his  father  that 


APPENDIX  277 

he  was  a  prisoner.  He  was  put  in  close  confinement, 
and  not  long  afterward,  peace  was  declared.  Once 
when  he  escaped  from  prison  (I  think  the  second  time), 
he  found  himself  in  a  small  yard  where  there  was  a 
young  wench  and  a  gate  that  opened  into  the  street. 
He  asked  her  to  open  the  gate.  "Are  you  one  of  the 
prisoners?"  said  she.  "Yes, "  was  the  reply,  whereupon 
she  opened  the  gate  and  he  walked  off.  His  absence 
was  soon  discovered  and  the  whole  prison  rung  with 
his  name.  Search  was  immediately  made,  and  a  poor 
fellow  who  was  supposed  to  be  Paulding  was  brought 
in  and  beaten  unmercifully  before  the  truth  of  the 
matter  was  discovered. 

(Signed)  ABRAHAM  BOYCE. 

Letter  from  Mr.  James  K.  Paulding  to 
Hiram  Paulding,  Lieutenant,  U.  S.  S. 
Independence: 

WASHINGTON,  18th  June,  1818. 

Dear  Hiram:  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  hear  from 
Lieutenant  Salter  that  you  are  employing  your  time  in 
gaming  a  knowledge  of  the  French  language,  and  in 
studying  such  branches  of  mathematics  as  will  be  useful 
in  your  profession.  These  acquisitions  will  be  useful 
to  you  in  your  future  life  and  furnish  you  with  sources 
of  pleasure  wherever  you  go.  Indeed  I  cannot  imagine 
a  more  certain  mode  of  providing  the  means  of  a 
respectable  and  happy  life  than  acquiring  a  due  relish 
for  literature  and  science,  sources  of  pleasure  and 
gratification  that  are  almost  always  hi  our  power,  and 
keep  us  from  running  into  expensive  and  improper 
pursuits.  I  have  taken  means  to  get  you  and,  if  pos 
sible,  Lieutenant  Salter  transferred  to  the  Macedonian, 


278  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

and  believe  I  shall  succeed,  although  the  absence  of 
the  Secretary  renders  it  doubtful  at  present.  It  will 
be  a  long  voyage,  but  pleasant,  and  will  afford  you  a 
fine  opportunity,  which  I  am  sure  you  will  not  neglect, 
to  become  a  seaman,  the  groundwork  of  eminence  in 
your  profession.  Let  me  hear  from  you  when  you  wish 
anything  reasonable  and  be  sure  your  wishes  will  be 
promptly  attended  to. 
Believe  me, 

Your  affectionate  cousin  and  friend, 
J.  K.  PAULDING. 

In  June,  1862,  the  sword  voted  by  the 
Nicaraguan  Government  in  1857  was  pre 
sented  to  the  Admiral  in  the  presence  of  a 
party  of  friends,  Congress  having  authorized 
the  acceptance  of  the  sword  though  declin 
ing  to  allow  him  to  receive  the  grant  of 
land. 

To  Admiral  Paulding  from  L.  Molina: 

LEGATION  OF  NICAEAGUA  IN  THE  U.  S., 

NEW  YORK,  July  21,  1860. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  communicate  to  you  the 
resolution  of  the  republic  of  Nicaragua,  copies  of  which 
I  beg  leave  to  hand  you  herewith,  intended  to  offer 
you  a  public  vote  of  thanks,  a  sword  of  honor,  and 
twenty  caballerias  of  the  national  lands  to  be  settled 
at  your  option;  as  tokens  of  the  high  regard  felt 
for  you  personally,  and  in  acknowledgment  of  the 
important  service  you  rendered  that  country  while, 
like  an  upright  citizen  and  faithful  servant,  you 


APPENDIX  279 

were  performing  your  whole  duty  to  your  own,  by 
your  noble  conduct  at  Punta  de  Castilla  and  San 
Juan  del  Norte  on  the  8th  day  of  December, 
1857. 

It  affords  me  great  satisfaction  to  be  the  medium 
of  imparting  this  intelligence  to  you,  regretting  that 
for  some  unaccountable  reasons  it  has  only  reached 
my  hands  in  an  official  form  within  the  last  three 
days. 

Aware  that,  in  order  to  be  at  liberty  to  accept  any 
such  demonstration  from  a  foreign  Government,  your 
position  requires  that  leave  should  be  previously 
obtained  from  Congress  and,  with  a  view  to  spare  you 
if  possible  any  trouble  hi  this  matter,  it  is  my  intention 
upon  receiving  your  answer  to  address  myself,  as  it  is 
customary  on  such  occasions,  to  the  Honorable  Secre 
tary  of  State  of  the  United  States. 

With  the  highest  regard, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

(Signed)     Louis  MOLINA. 

At  the  presentation  Minister  Perez  read 
as  follows: 

In  compliance  with  orders  from  the  Government  of 
Nicaragua,  I  have  the  honor  to  forward  to  you  the 
sword  which,  as  expressed  in  the  decree  I  have  had 
previously  the  pleasure  to  communicate  to  you,  that 
republic  has  desired  to  present  to  you  for  your  noble 
conduct  at  Punta  de  Castilla  on  the  8th  December,  1857. 
On  that  occasion  you,  not  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
gravity  of  the  act,  but  with  a  just  consciousness  of 
discharging  a  duty  toward  your  own  country  and 


280  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

abounding  with  zeal  for  its  honor  and  good  name,  as 
commander  of  the  naval  force  of  the  United  States  in 
those  waters,  decided  to  seize  and  did  seize  and  brought 
back  the  notorious  adventurer  William  Walker,  and 
the  other  individuals  of  the  expedition  he  led  from  the 
United  States  and  which  he  landed  at  Punta  de  Castilla 
in  the  presence  of  one  of  their  vessels  of  war,  in  viola 
tion  of  their  municipal  laws  and  of  their  national  obliga 
tions,  thus  attempting  a  second  time  the  invasion  of 
Nicaragua,  a  State  with  which  the  United  States  were 
at  peace. 

That  meritorious  act  performed  by  you,  instead  of 
receiving  the  approbation  of  your  Government,  met  with 
a  severe  censure  from  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration 
and  subjected  you  to  undeserved  mortification  and  prej 
udice.  At  the  time  alluded  to,  Nicaragua  had  a  mere 
de  jure  —  not  a  practical  —  dominion  over  the  port  of 
San  Juan,  which  really  was  under  a  sort  of  protectorate 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain;  and,  on  looking 
upon  the  momentous  action  you  took  with  no  other 
object  than  that  of  preventing  the  piratical  invasion 
of  her  territory  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,  she 
could  not  consider  your  conduct  as  offensive  to  her,  nor 
be  indifferent  to  the  disagreeable  consequence  it  brought 
upon  yourself:  on  the  contrary,  regarding  it  as  com 
mendable  and  well  calculated  to  prevent  injurious 
complications  as  well  as  other  evils  undeserved  on  the 
part  of  Nicaragua  and,  at  least,  unfruitful  to  the  United 
States,  she  has  desired  to  give  you  a  testimony  of  her 
just  appreciation  of  your  noble  conduct  and  high 
motives,  by  tendering  to  you  a  vote  of  thanks  and 
presenting  to  you  twenty  caballerias  of  land,  and  a 
sword  which  I  have  now  the  pleasure  to  forward  to  you 
by  Don  Jose  Rosa  Perez,  a  Nicaraguan  citizen.  My 


APPENDIX  281 

Government  has  regretted  that  the  United  States  Con 
gress  should  not  have  given  their  consent  to  your 
accepting  the  lands,  and  the  sword  has  reached  me  very 
recently  only,  because  they  awaited  information  hi 
regard  to  the  resolution  of  that  body,  as  well  as  on 
account  of  posterior  accidental  circumstances.  Please, 
sir,  to  excuse  the  length  of  this  note,  to  be  assured  of 
the  great  pleasure  I  take  in  complying  with  the  order 
from  my  Government  on  this  occasion,  and  to  accept 
the  high  esteem  and  consideration  with  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  subscribe  myself, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)    Louis  MOLINA. 

To  CAPTAIN  H.  PAULDING,  U.  S.  N. 

Address  of  Admiral  Paulding  on  occasion 
of  the  presentation  of  the  sword: 

"I  welcome  you  here  to  be  present  on  an  occasion 
of  more  than  usual  interest  to  me.  Some  of  you  wnll 
remember  that  a  few  years  since,  while  hi  command  of 
the  Home  Squadron,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to 
assume  a  responsibility  demanded  by  the  honor  of  our 
country  and  the  first  dictates  of  humanity. 

"  In  violation  of  the  President's  proclamation  and  the 
laws  of  the  land,  William  Walker,  aided  by  prominent 
Southern  men,  left  our  shores  with  a  piratical  band  of 
followers,  to  prey  upon  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the 
people  of  Nicaragua,  a  sister  republic  with  whom  at  the 
time  we  had  the  most  friendly  relations.  Regardless  of 
the  presence  of  the  U.  S.  ship  Saratoga,  which  had  been 
placed  in  the  harbor  of  San  Juan  del  Norte  with  refer 
ence  to  these  freebooters,  Walker  landed  his  party  at 


282  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

the  Point  Arenas,  directly  under  her  guns.  When  in 
my  flag-ship  I  arrived  there  from  Aspinwall,  he  had 
already  commenced  his  warlike  operations  and,  from 
the  condition  of  things,  I  found  that  the  only  thing  I 
could  do  was  to  disarm  the  party  and  send  them  home 
to  answer  for  their  crimes. 

"I  remember,  if  you  do  not,  the  bitter  denuncia 
tion  of  the  prominent  scoundrels  who  had  partitioned 
among  themselves  the  homes  of  an  unoffending  people, 
how  they  deplored  with  imbecile  rage  the  loss  of  a  new 
empire  for  the  institution  of  slavery,  to  be  established 
on  the  ruin  of  a  free  people. 

"  My  proceeding  was  approved  by  every  good  citizen, 
yet  such  were  the  influences  then  controlling  the  admin 
istration  of  the  Government  that  the  course  of  justice 
due  to  a  friendly  nation  was  set  aside.  By  leading 
Southern  men,  who  doubtless  participated  in  the  shame 
ful  invasion  of  Nicaragua,  and  who  are  now  in  arms 
against  us,  I  was  denounced  in  the  Halls  of  Congress 
for  violating  the  neutrality  of  Nicaragua  by  landing  on 
her  shore.  The  Government  of  Nicaragua,  with  a  sense 
of  justice  that  I  did  not  find  in  my  own,  at  once  ex 
onerated  me  by  conveying  through  one  of  her  most 
distinguished  citizens,  General  Juarez,  her  approval 
and  thanks  for  the  course  I  had  pursued. 

"  Subsequently  she  decreed  in  her  Halls  of  Legislation 
to  present  me  a  sword  of  honor  and  a  measure  of  her 
public  domain.  I  am  permitted  by  Congress  to  receive 
this  sword. 

"  His  Excellency  Don  Louis  Molina,  minister  pleni 
potentiary  from  Nicaragua,  has  entrusted  this  emblem 
of  his  country's  good-will  to  the  hands  of  Mr.  J.  R. 
Perez,  to  whom  I  most  cordially  tender  my  thanks  for 
his  courtesy. 


APPENDIX  283 

"  I  receive  from  you,  Mr.  Perez,  with  my  profound 
acknowledgments  to  your  Government,  its  minister, 
and  yourself,  this  highly  appreciated  gift.  For  the 
honor  it  conveys,  its  possession  will  be  a  cherished 
memorial  for  me  and  mine,  and  whenever  it  shall  be 
my  happiness  to  display  it  to  my  friends,  as  upon 
this  occasion,  I  can  say  with  a  feeling  of  honest  pride, 
'this  sword  illustrates  the  justice  and  generosity  of 
the  Government  of  Nicaragua.  It  relieves  me  from 
imputed  wrong  to  her  and  the  imputed  commission, 
on  my  part,  of  "  a  grave  error,"  whilst  hi  a  faithful 
discharge  of  my  duty  as  an  officer/ 

"  I  have  thus,  my  friends,  given  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
transaction  through  which  we  are  assembled  here,  but 
the  whole  story  is  not  told  and  I  cannot  tax  your 
patience  now.  Yet  I  will  say  it  was  evidently  designed 
that  I  should  be  the  victim  of  infamous  men  hi  high 
places,  hi  carrying  out  their  schemes  of  rapine  and 
murder.  It  is  a  history  not  without  interest  and 
instruction.  It  conveys  a  moral,  showing  that,  whether 
in  public  or  private  life,  the  surest  guide  is  to  be  just 
without  fear. 

"Again,  Senor  Perez,  permit  me  to  express  thanks 
for  the  kindly  manner  in  which  you  have  executed  the 
trust  confided  to  you  by  His  Excellency  your  honored 
representative." 

COMMANDANT'S  OFFICE,  U.  S.  NAVY  YARD, 

NEW  YORK,  June  4,  1862. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge,  by  the  hands 
of  Don  Jose  Rosa  Perez,  accompanied  by  the  letter 
from  your  Excellency  of  the  19th  May,  1862,  the 
receipt  of  the  sword  which  the  Government  of 
Nicaragua  by  decree  has  directed  to  be  presented 


284  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

to  me  for  the  course  which  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to 
pursue  in  arresting  at  Punta  de  Castilla,  on  the  8th 
of  Dec.,  1857,  the  notorious  filibuster  and  outlaw 
William  Walker,  with  his  followers,  who  had  landed 
on  the  shores  of  the  republic  of  Nicaragua  in  viola 
tion  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  and  of  all 
civilized  nations.  For  the  generous  manifestation  of 
your  Excellency's  Government  by  the  decree  present 
ing  this  sword  and  also  the  tract  of  land  (of  which 
latter  the  policy  of  my  Government  does  not  permit 
the  acceptance),  of  the  approval  and  estimation  of  my 
course  on  the  occasion  above  referred  to,  I  can  only  say 
that  it  is  far  above  my  deserts  for  the  simple  perform 
ance  of  what  I  then  considered  and  now  consider  to 
have  been  my  duty. 

Of  course  it  is  the  desire  of  every  officer  to  receive 
the  approval  of  his  Government,  and  if  I  did  not  then 
receive  that  of  the  Administration  and  Congress,  I 
think  the  cause  can  be  directly  traced  to  political  events 
which  have  since  culminated  in  the  present  unfortunate 
condition  of  the  country,  which  no  one  can  more 
deeply  deplore  than  myself.  Be  pleased  to  accept  for 
yourself  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  kind  and  flattering 
manner  in  which  you  have  conveyed  to  me  the  wishes 
of  your  Government  and  to  express  through  you  to 
your  Excellency's  Government  the  high  appreciation 
in  which  I  shall  always  hold  this  manifestation  of 
its  approval  of  my  official  act.  I  am,  sir, 

With  sentiments  of  high  regard  and  esteem, 

Your  Excellency's  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  H.  PAULDING. 

To  HIS  EXCELLENCY,  SENOR  DON  Luis  MOLINA, 
Envoy  Extraordinary ,  etc. 


APPENDIX  285 

The  sword  is  a  magnificent  one,  the  hilt 
and  scabbard  being  solid  gold  chased  in  the 
most  elaborate  style,  with  the  coat  of  arms  of 
the  State  of  Nicaragua  beautifully  embossed 
thereon,  around  which  is  the  following  in 
scription:  "La  REPUBLICA  de  NICARAGUA  al 
COMMODORE  H.  PAULDING."  The  scabbard 
and  hilt  are  studded  with  thirteen  or  more 
large  amethysts,  the  native  stone  of  Nica 
ragua,  and  on  the  blade  is  engraved  the 
following:  "Per  su  noble  compartiremente  en 
Punta  de  Castllla  el  8  December  de  1857." 

When  Commodore  Paulding  was  ordered 
to  the  command  of  the  Navy  Yard  at  New 
York,  his  home  at  the  farm  at  Huntington 
was  temporarily  deserted,  and  the  house 
closed,  save  for  a  short  tune  in  summer.  In 
the  autumn  sailors  from  a  coaster,  storm 
bound  in  Lloyd's  Harbor,  to  beguile  a 
tedious  hour,  broke  into  the  house  and,  with 
the  usual  vandalism  of  such  people,  ran 
sacked  closets  and  did  much  mischief;  so, 
to  protect  the  property,  a  farmer  w^as  sent 
to  live  in  the  house.  He  moved  with  his 
family  one  rainy  February  day  and,  finding 
a  great  open  fireplace  in  the  oak-floored 
kitchen,  built  a  roaring  wood  fire  for  warmth 
and  comfort.  The  warmth  came,  but  not 


286  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

the  comfort,  for,  through  some  accident 
while  they  slept,  the  house  took  fire,  and 
they  barely  escaped. 

A  letter  from  one  of  the  Commodore's 
daughters  speaks  of  his  reception  of  the 
news. 

Burning  of  the  house  at  Peach  Blossom: 

NAVY  YARD,  NEW  YORK, 

February,  '63. 

My  dear  C.:  We  have  met  with  a  grievous  mis 
fortune.  I  can  hardly  bring  myself  to  speak  of  it,  but 
when  I  see  how  Father  takes  it,  I  must  make  the  best 
of  it.  I  had  spent  the  night  in  New  York  with  Aunt 
Mary,  who  was  very  ill,  and,  finding  her  more  comfort 
able  in  the  morning,  came  home.  I  was  astonished, 
on  coming  in,  to  see  Father  in  the  parlor  alone  reading 
a  letter  by  the  window,  for  at  that  hour  he  was  always 
in  his  office  and  very  busy.  I  ran  to  him  for  my  good- 
morning  kiss,  when  he  came  toward  me,  taking  off  his 
glasses,  and  putting  his  arm  around  me  said  gravely: 
"My  daughter,  I  have  bad  news  for  you.  I  have  just 
heard  that  our  house,  our  dear  *  Peach  Blossom '  house, 
was  burned  to  the  ground  last  night.  All  is  gone.  It 
is  hard,  is  it  not  —  but  we  must  be  thankful  no  lives 
were  lost."  And  I  never  shall  forget  the  brave  patient 
look  in  those  dear  eyes,  trying  to  comfort  me,  when  I 
knew  all  it  was  to  him.  The  house  he  had  worked  for 
so  many  years,  and  on  which  he  had  just  paid  off  the 
mortgage;  and  in  those  busy  weary  days  and  nights 
thought  of  the  rest  and  refreshment  awaiting  him  there 
when  the  war  should  be  over.  And  now,  all  was  gone. 
And  not  a  word  of  impatience,  brave  and  calm  he  could 


APPENDIX  287 

stand  there  beside  me  and  look  at  the  sudden  shattering 
of  his  hopes,  with  philosophy  and  Christian  fortitude. 
I  had  loved  and  admired  my  dear  father  always,  but 
this  was  an  exhibition  of  heroism  I  could  hardly  look  for. 
Mother,  too,  was  patient  and  brave,  as  became  a 
soldier's  wife,  ill  as  she  was.  So  what  is  left  for  us, 
their  children,  but  to  make  the  best  of  it?  We  cannot 
tell  what  will  be  done.  With  Mother  so  ill,  Father 
breaking  down  with  his  anxieties  here,  Tattnall  in  the 
Army,  and  two  of  us  engaged  to  be  married,  they  may 
not  have  the  courage  to  rebuild  even  if  there  should 
be  the  means  to  make  another  home.  It  is  surely 
disheartening.  I  felt  that  I  must  write  and  tell  you, 
for  you  and  I  have  had  so  many  happy  days  there 
together,  and  I  know  you  loved  the  dear  old  house 
almost  as  I  did.  The  tears  will  fall  as  I  write,  but  that 
will  not  do,  so  good-bye.  Yours, 

'R. 

It  was  a  great  trial,  but  life  is  full  of 
vicissitudes,  and  in  those  days  of  Civil  War 
there  were  sadder  losses  than  that  of  a  home. 
As  the  months  wore  on,  the  brave  elder 
daughter,  who  had  been  the  first  to  love 
the  " Peach  Blossom"  home,  helped  to  bring 
courage — and  plans  for  rebuilding  were  con 
sidered. 

NEW  YORK,  April  10,  1864. 
REAR-ADMIRAL  PAULDING, 

Commdt.  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  after  pro 
posal  of  the  minister  of  marines,  His  Majesty  the  King 


288  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

of  Italy  has  bestowed  upon  you  the  decoration  oi 
commander  of  this  equestrian  order  of  Sts.  Mauritius 
and  Lazarus  as  a  reward  for  the  assistance  you  afforded 
to  the  Italian  frigate  Re  d'  Italia  when  she  got  on 
shore  near  Long  Branch. 

Having  been  appointed  to  deliver  you  said  decora 
tion  and  the  letter  which  accompanies  it,  I'll  be  very 
happy,  Admiral,  to  learn  from  you  when,  after  getting 
the  proper  permission  of  the  Congress,  you  will  be  able 
to  accept  them.  I  am, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  DEL  SANTO, 
Captain  of  Frigate,  R.  I.  N. 

LEGAZIONE  D'  ITALIA, 

AGLI  STATI  UNITI, 
WASHINGTON,  9th  December,  1866. 
Sir:  I  take  great  pleasure  in  officially  informing  you 
that  H.  M.  the  King  of  Italy,  in  appreciation  of  the 
services  rendered  by  you  in  assisting  and  procuring  aid 
to  the  frigate  Re  d'  Italia  of  the  Royal  Navy,  when  in 
a  dangerous  condition,  has  been  graciously  pleased  to 
confer  upon  you  the  title  and  dignity  of  commander  of 
his  order  of  the  Sts.  Mauritius  and  Lazarus. 

In  transmitting  now  to  you  the  insignia  of  the 
order,  and  the  royal  commission  attached  thereto,  I 
beg  to  express  to  you,  sir,  my  sincere  congratulations; 
at  the  same  time  I  take  this  occasion  of  offering  to 
you,  sir,  the  assurance  of  my  most  distinguished  con 
sideration. 

(Signed)  R.  CANTAGALLI, 
Charge  d'affaires. 


APPENDIX  289 

His  EXCELLENCY  R.  CANTAGALU, 
Charge  d'affaires  of  Italy, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

GOVERNOR'S  OFFICE  U.  S.  NAVAL  ASYLUM, 

PHILADELPHIA,  Dec.  14th,  1866. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  most  respectfully  to  acknowl 
edge  the  receipt  of  the  decoration  and  commission  of 
the  order  of  "  Sts.  Mauritius  and  Lazarus"  conferred 
upon  me  by  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Italy.  It  came 
by  the  hands  of  the  accomplished  and  gentlemanly 
Consul  of  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy  for  Phila 
delphia,  Mr.  Alonzo  M.  Viti. 

I  am  profoundly  sensible  of  the  high  honor  thus  con 
ferred  upon  me  by  His  Royal  Majesty  the  King  of 
Italy  and  will  treasure  the  memorial  as  coming  from 
the  most  illustrious  Monarch  and  gallant  Knight  of  the 
age  in  which  we  live.  For  your  acceptable  and  cour 
teous  manner  of  conveying  this  compliment  from  your 
Government,  be  pleased  to  accept  my  sincere  thanks  and 
assurance  of  high  respect  and  consideration.  I  am, 
Resply., 

Your  Most  Obedient  Servant, 
(Signed)     H.  PAULDING, 
Rear-Admiral  U.  S.  Navy. 

Copy  of  letter  written  by  Commodore 
Paulding  during  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil 
War,  urging  a  larger  military  force : 

A  period  is  approaching  more  vital  to  the  success 
and  prosperity  of  the  nation  than  any  we  have  passed 
through  since  the  commencement  of  the  Rebellion. 
Our  ranks  are  thinned  by  death,  disease,  and  expiration 


290  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

of  service,  and  the  draft  and  subsequent  conduct  of  the 
war  must,  and  will  determine  whether  we  are  to  have 
speedy  peace  by  conquest  or  a  long  and  exhausting  war. 
We  have  tried  moderation  in  council  and  moderation 
in  the  force  with  which  we  have  met  the  rebels  in  the 
field,  and  in  both  we  have  found  them  in  advance  of 
us,  and  ourselves  discomfited.  Our  experience  should 
give  us  knowledge,  if  it  has  not  already  done  so,  and 
now  the  time  has  arrived  when  every  man  knows  that 
failing  to  exercise  our  powers  is  not  only  weakness  but 
imbecility  that  "betrays  like  treason."  No  other 
course  is  left  to  us  but  to  strike  heavy  blows  and  to 
repeat  them  until  the  serpent's  head  is  crushed  by  the 
iron  heel.  To  do  this  we  must  be  earnest  in  our  pur 
pose  and  put  forth  the  power  of  the  republic  by  send 
ing  to  the  field  an  army  the  rebels  cannot  resist.  In 
the  commencement  of  the  Rebellion  we  sent  just  about 
men  enough  to  the  field  to  encourage  a  successful 
resistance,  and  from  that  time  to  this  we  have  never 
been  equal  to  the  demands  of  the  great  struggle  for 
victory  or  defeat.  In  making  the  draft,  permit  me  to 
suggest  that  it  should  be  done  alone  with  reference 
to  the  need  of  the  country  for  a  speedy  peace. 

With  the  army  now  in  the  field  we  want  at  least  half 
a  million  of  men.  In  the  first  organization  of  the  Army, 
cavalry  was  repudiated  as  too  expensive,  and  for  a  long 
time  the  enemy,  wiser  than  ourselves,  cut  off  our  sup 
plies,  surprised  our  detachments,  made  raids  in  the  rear 
of  our  armies  and  in  many  ways  made  us  feel  the  want 
of  this  important  contingent  of  an  army,  whether  it  was 
aggressive  or  otherwise.  We  have  learned  wisdom  in 
this  respect  if  not  in  others  by  our  experience  and  it  is 
apparent  to  every  one  that  a  large  cavalry  force  is  that 
which  is  most  needed.  With  infantry  and  artillery  to 


APPENDIX  291 

keep  the  enemy  behind  his  defenses,  our  cavalry,  if 
in  sufficient  force,  can  cut  off  their  supplies,  break  up 
then-  means  of  concentration,  by  which  they  have  given 
us  much  trouble,  and  I  can  readily  believe,  if  the  war 
is  conducted  judiciously,  that  it  will  terminate  in  less 
than  six  months  from  the  time  our  new  levies  are 
properly  organized  and  sent  to  the  field.  To  accom 
plish  this  we  want  fifty  thousand  cavalry,  as  many 
artillery,  and  not  less  than  half  a  million  of  infantry. 
With  this  force  at  the  beginning  the  war  would  have 
been  ended  before  now.  We  have  frittered  away  our 
means  in  driblets  and  to  continue  in  the  same  way  will 
insure  us  a  long  and  wasting  war. 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING. 

To  Admiral  Paulding: 

NEW  YORK,  Nov.  26th,  '62. 

Admiral:  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  present  to  you  the 
enclosed  extract  of  a  letter  which  I  have  forwarded  to 
the  Navy  Department. 

I  cannot  find  words  to  express  my  regret  to  learn 
that  the  officers  of  the  Navy  suppose  that  certain  fool 
ish  statements  in  the  papers  respecting  the  Passaic's 
turret  emanate  from  me.  I  have,  during  twenty  years, 
experienced  nothing  but  courtesy  and  kind  encourage 
ment  from  the  officers  of  the  United  States  Navy.  To 
yourself,  Admiral,  I  am  in  particular  indebted  for  the 
advantageous  position  I  now  occupy,  for  without  your 
firm  support  the  Monitor  would  not  have  been  built. 
I  am,  Admiral, 

Respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  I.  ERICSSON. 
FROM  I.  ERICSSON  TO  ADMIRAL  PAULDING. 


292  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

Letter  from  H.  Paulding  to  Stimers,  chief 
engineer  of  the  Monitor: 

HUNTINGTON,  LONG  ISLAND,  N.  Y., 

Jan.  1,  1870. 

My  dear  Mr.  Stimers:  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  learn 
that  a  movement  has  been  made  calling  the  attention 
of  Congress  to  the  merit  of  the  gallant  crew  of  the 
Monitor.  Her  collision  with  the  Merrimac  and  the 
discomfiture  of  that  formidable  vessel,  after  she  had 
destroyed  the  frigates,  sent  a  thrill  of  joy  to  the  heart 
of  the  nation  and  the  gallant  Worden  and  his  comrades 
were  deemed  worthy  of  all  that  a  grateful  people  could 
bestow. 

After  the  lapse  of  so  much  time  it  is  cheering 
to  realize  that  their  merit  may  be  acknowledged 
and  placed  upon  the  record  of  history  by  the 
liberality  of  the  Government.  The  world  gives  to 
the  general  of  an  army  and  to  the  commander  of 
a  fleet  the  credit  for  the  heroism  displayed  by  the 
united  efforts  of  the  gallant  men  they  command  in 
great  achievements,  and  you,  my  dear  Stimers,  in  a 
measure  lost  your  identity  in  the  fight  of  the  Merri 
mac  and  Monitor,  although  without  your  presence, 
your  skill,  and  indomitable  courage  the  victory  might 
not  have  been  won. 

The  formidable  character  of  the  Merrimac  was  known 
to  us  and  the  Monitor  was  our  only  means  of  resisting 
what  appeared  her  invincible  power.  As  commandant 
of  the  New  York  Yard  I  hurried  her  preparation  by 
every  available  means  and  in  doing  this  I  have  remem 
bered,  with  pride  and  a  warm  appreciation  of  your 
mechanical  skill  and  earnest  zeal,  how  well  I  was 
seconded  by  yourself  and  other  distinguished  chiefs  in 
the  Yard. 


APPENDIX  293 

When  the  vessel  was  in  readiness  and  you  assumed 
the  charge  of  the  engine  I  felt  that  nothing  more  could 
be  done  to  insure  success  but  to  send  forward  our 
nondescript  that  was  not  unaptly  characterized  as  a 
"cheese-box." 

The  meed  of  merit  that  is  justly  your  due  can  only 
be  known  to  those  who  have  knowiedge  of  the  skill 
with  which  you  managed  to  get  the  Monitor  to  Hampton 
Roads  through  heavy  gales,  and  the  splendid  manner 
in  which  you  carried  the  first  American  ironclad  under 
a  battery  of  superior  force. 

In  whatever  may  be  done,  I  sincerely  hope  that  your 
services  may  be  justly  appreciated  and  rewarded. 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING. 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  an  officer  of  the 
Monitor: 

ANNAPOLIS,  MD., 
Feb.  11,  1879. 

My  dear :  Your  note  has  just  reached  me,  and 

in  order  to  give  you  a  prompt  reply  I  write  at  once. 
I  have  not  had  time  to  read  your  article  hi  Harper's 
Monthly  of  the  noble  Paulding,  whose  memory  I 
reverence  as  much  as  you  or  any  other  naval  officer 
can.  He  was  a  grand  old  gentleman  and  I  esteem 
it  a  favor  to  have  had  his  acquaintance.  I  shall 
read  your  article  and  Commodore  Marston's  letter  as 
soon  as  I  can,  but  not  having  read  them  I  write  some 
what  blindly. 

And  what  I  now  write  is  entirely  from  memory,  as 
all  my  papers,  memoranda,  etc.,  etc.,  were  lost  hi  the 
Monitor  wrhen  she  foundered.  And  after  an  interval 
of  nearly  seventeen  years  one's  memory  may  be  a 
little  out. 


294  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

The  Monitor  steamed  from  the  Navy  Yard  at; 
Brooklyn  at  about  11  A.M.  on  Thursday,  March  6, 
1862,  and  shortly  after  passing  the  Battery  we  received 
a  hawser  from  the  tugboat  Seth  Low  and  immediately 
continued  on  our  way  in  tow  of  the  tugboat  and  our 
own  engines  working. 

To  the  best  of  my  recollection  I  think  I  am  right,  for 
my  memory  is  tenacious;  we  did  not  stop  from  the  time 
we  took  the  tow  until  we  received  a  pilot  in  Chesapeake 
Bay.  I  know  that  we  did  not  anchor  or  remain  in  the 
lower  bay  of  New  York.  And  I  do  not  think  any 
vessel  communicated  with  the  Monitor  after  she  left 
the  Navy  Yard  until  we  reached  the  Chesapeake. 

If  I  ever  knew  the  orders  regarding  her  destination,  I 
have  forgotten  them.  I  never  saw  the  orders.  Of  course 
Admiral  Worden  knows  and  remembers  what  they  were. 
I  have  heard  him  say,  had  Captain  Marston  given  him 
orders  to  proceed  on  his  way  to  the  Potomac,  that  he 
(Worden)  should  have  disobeyed  them,  and  proceeded 
directly  to  the  battle-ground,  just  as  he  did.  You  will 
observe  in  Worden's  report  (enclosed)  that  Captain 
Marston  suggested  that  he  (Worden)  should  go  to  the 
Minnesota.  The  log-book  of  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard 
may  give  the  exact  hour  the  Monitor  steamed  from 
the  Yard.  I  found  in  that  log-book  the  day  she  was 
commissioned,  Feb.  25,  1862.  In  a  letter  of  mine, 
written  just  after  the  action  (and  just  turned  up),  I  find 
the  following,  "and  at  11  A.M.  on  Thursday  we  started 
down  the  harbor  in  company  with  the  gun-boats 
Sachem  and  Currituck.  We  went  along  very  nicely 
and  when  we  arrived  at  Governor's  Island  the  steamer 
Seth  Low  came  alongside  and  took  us  in  tow.  We 
went  out  past  the  narrows  with  a  light  wind  from 
the  west  and  very  smooth  water.  The  weather  con- 


APPENDIX  295 

tinued  the  same  all  Thursday  night,  etc.  etc."    This 
confirms  'what  I  have  already  written. 

(Signed)  S.  D.  G. 

Letter  from  Hiram  Barney,  Collector  of 
the  Port  of  New  York: 

CUSTOM  HOUSE, 
NEW  YORK,  July  29th,  1863. 
Admiral:  I  wish  to  express  to  you  my  thanks  for  the 
prompt  assistance  rendered  me  by  the  force  sent  from 
the  Navy  Yard  for  the  protection  of  this  building.  I 
wish  also  particularly  to  acknowledge  the  valuable 
services  of  Ensign  Canfield,  who  commands  the  men 
sent  by  you.  I  regard  him  as  an  excellent  officer  and 
shall  always  be  glad  to  hear  of  his  advancement  and 
success.  I  hope  you  will  allow  this  force  to  continue 
here  until  we  have  better  hopes  of  continued  quiet  and 
submission  to  law.  I  am 

With  great  respect, 
Truly  yours, 

(Signed)  HIRAM  BARNEY, 

Collector. 

REAR-ADMIRAL  HIRAM  PAULDING, 
Navy  Yard,  Brooklyn. 

H.  Paulding  to  a  friend  who  had  asked 
for  autograph  letters: 

HUNTINGTON,   LONG  ISLAND, 

April  13th,  1873. 

My  dear  Captain:  I  have  not  yet  commenced  to  over 
haul  my  old  sea  chest  for  antiquities,  but  a  few  days 


296  LIFE  OF  HIRAM   PAULDING 

since,  chanced  upon  the  enclosed  note  from  Washington 
Irving,  which,  in  recalling  reminiscences  of  early  life, 
it  occurred  to  me  would  have  the  merit  of  novelty  if 
it  did  not  interest  you  from  any  other  point  of  view,  lie 
having  been  all  his  life  an  associate  and  friend  of  the 
officers  of  the  old  Navy.  At  the  same  time,  I  m^y 
victimize  you  by  saying  something  of  my  unimportant 
self,  being  one  of  that  fraternity  of  the  old  Navy. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  with  England  I  left  Lake 
Champlain  and  found  myself  in  New  York  without 
employment,  my  application  for  Commodore  Decatur 's 
squadron  being  unsuccessful,  and,  in  my  earnest  desi  'e 
to  join  the  fleet  then  nearly  ready  to  sail,  sought  the 
friendly  interest  of  James  K.  Paulding,  who  with 
Washington  Irving,  Commodore  Decatur,  Lieut.  Jack 
Nicholson,  Henry  Brevoort,  one  of  the  literary  clique, 
and  some  others  lived  with  Mrs.  Bradish,  whose  house 
fronted  the  Battery,  forming  a  joyous  fraternity.  I 
stated  briefly  my  embarrassment  and  wishes  and  in  the 
sequel  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Irving,  who  appointed  the 
next  morning  for  me  to  call,  and  in  doing  so,  he  handed 
me  an  order  from  Commodore  Decatur  to  report  as  one 
of  the  midshipmen  of  the  Constellation.  At  that  time 
Mr.  Irving  had  arranged  to  go  with  Decatur  as  his 
friend,  the  two  being  much  devoted  to  each  other,  and 
having  a  great  desire  to  be  present  at  the  assault  of 
Algiers.  His  preparations  were  made  and  the  boat 
waited  at  the  Battery  when  an  event  occurred  that 
prevented  his  departure.  He  was  through  life  devoted 
to  the  Navy  and  the  old  officers,  and  I  was  personally 
indebted  to  him  for  many  acts  of  kindness.  In  taking 
a  retrospect  I  have  regarded  Mr.  Irving's  interest  in  my 
affairs  as  having  a  controlling  influence  on  my  profes 
sional  life.  If  in  recalling  what  may  have  but  little 


APPENDIX  297 

interest  for  you,  I  beg  you  will  pardon  the  fatuity  that 
"time  on  his  scroll  is  forever  recording." 

(Signed)  H.  PAULDING. 

ADDRESS  BY  ADMIRAL  PAULDING  WELCOMING  THE 

RETURN  OF  THE  SOLDIERS  TO  HUNTINGTON 

AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  ClVIL  WAR 

My  friends:  With  all  my  sympathies  in  harmony  with 
the  occasion  of  this  assemblage  of  our  people,  I  feel  that 
no  higher  compliment  could  have  been  conveyed  by 
my  fellow  citizens  and  neighbors  than  the  distinction 
of  being  called  upon  to  preside  where  there  are  so  many 
more  able  and  more  worthy  of  the  honor.  For  this 
partiality  be  pleased  to  accept  my  warmest  acknowl 
edgments. 

Prompted  by  gratitude  and  admiration  of  the  gal 
lant  deeds  of  our  citizen-soldiers,  the  people  of  Hunt- 
ington  with  one  voice  have  invited  them  to  assemble 
to  receive  their  personal  recognition  of  the  services 
they  have  rendered,  and  to  give  them  their  warmest 
assurance  of  respect  and  regard. 

With  this  object  hi  view,  it  becomes  my  pleasing 
duty  to  say  in  the  name  of  this  community  —  Soldiers, 
Citizens,  Friends,  and  Neighbors,  we  receive  you  here 
from  the  battle-field,  from  toil  and  privation,  to  do  you 
honor  and  to  extend  to  you  the  hand  of  fraternity. 

We  thank  you  for  your  gallant  deeds,  for  the  priva 
tions  you  have  borne  so  patiently,  and  the  endurance 
that  must  so  severely  have  tested  your  manhood. 

We  welcome  you  here,  friends  and  gallant  sons  of 
our  community,  to  enjoy  with  us  the  peaceful  homes 
your  services  have  so  materially  secured.  You  come 
here  among  us,  the  embodiment  of  honorable  life,  with 


298  LIFE  OF  HIRAM  PAULDING 

victory  inscribed  upon  your  banner,  the  defenders  of 
your  country. 

You  have  secured  to  us  our  NATIONALITY,  our 
homes  and  firesides,  and  given  to  us  a  Country  of  peace 
and  safety.  You  have  vindicated  and  illustrated  the 
great  problem  of  man's  self-government  and  secured  the 
only  asylum  of  liberty  on  earth  for  the  poor  ani 
oppressed  of  other  lands.  The  history  of  mankind  has 
never  accorded  to  men  so  great  a  glory  as  this,  and  the 
blessings  of  posterity  will  render  your  fame  enduring. 
Whilst  the  posterity  of  traitors  will  blush  to  think 
"their  fathers  were  your  foes,"  your  children  and  your 
children's  children  will  stand  on  tiptoe  when  their  sire 
and  his  sacred  mission  as  a  soldier  is  named. 

To  the  honored  dead  who  fell  by  your  sides,  the 
victims  of  this  unholy  war,  and  who  return  to  us  no 
more,  we  can  only  say,  peace  to  their  ashes,  and  as 
martyrs  in  a  sacred  cause  may  they  enjoy  a  bright 
immortality. 

SOLDIERS!  Again  we  say  thrice  welcome,  and 
again,  in  this  friendly  greeting  of  your  neighbors,  re 
ceive  their  assurance  of  every  wish  for  your  happiness 
and  prosperity. 

I  now  present  to  you  JOEL  SCUDDER,  ESQ.,  a  con 
sistent,  zealous,  loyal  citizen,  an  able  gentleman  who 
can  do  more  justice  than  myself  to  the  esteem  in  which 
your  great  and  honorable  services  are  held  by  this 
community. 


INDEX 

Abolitionists,    136. 

Adalbert,  Prince,  91,  92;  desires  to  consult  Captain 
Paulding,  96,  99;  gives  reception,  102,  103,  104,  105; 
dinner  given  by,  106,  107. 

Adams,  Charles,  241. 

Addresses,  acceptance  of  sword,  281;  welcome  to  returned 
soldiers,  297. 

Aguadillia,    165. 

Alcalde,  of  Huacho,  26;  of  Huaracanga,  42,  43,  44,  46; 
of  Huaraz,  64;  Pizaro,  79. 

Alexandria,  troops  at,  247,  248. 

Algaroba,  30,  81,  83. 

Algerine  vessels,  capture  of,  14. 

Algiers,  296. 

Allen,  Mr.,  119. 

Almy,  Captain  John  J.,  U.S.N.,  187,  195. 

Amazon  River,  142. 

Anacostia,  the,  239. 

Anderson,  Frank,   196,   197. 

Andes,  16,  20,  36,  39,  43,  47,  52,  80;  Bolivar's  march 
through,  25;  sublimity  of  scene,  54;  magnificent  sun 
set,  57;  mountain  scenery,  effects  of  altitude,  58. 

Andre",  Major  John,  3,  272. 

Andrews,  Mr.,  116. 

Annapolis,  160. 

Arab,  the,  147. 

Araquai,  59,  60,  61. 

Archduke  John  of  Austria  (see  John). 

Arlington  Heights,  troops  at,  247,  248. 

Asiatic  station,  85,  86,  87. 

299 


300  INDEX 

Aspinwall,  165,  167,  168,  170,  174,  175,  182,  183,  185, 
195,  282;  filibusters  to  be  conveyed  to,  172,  185;  to 
be  guarded,  191;  Walker's  letter  received  at,  192. 

Asylum  for  British    seamen    (see  Greenwich  Hospital). 

Atacama,  deserts  of,  23. 

Athens,  208. 

Azores,  cruise  as  far  ao,  142. 

Babylon,  L.  I.,  216. 

Bacon,  Lord  Francis,  211. 

Bailey,  Commodore  Theodorus,  U.S.N.,  13. 

Ballard,  Commodore  Henry  E.,  U.S.N.,  134. 

Baltic  Sea,  88,  104. 

Barbary  powers,  14. 

Barney,  Hiram,  letter  from,  295. 

Barranca,  35,  36,  38,  39. 

Barranca  River,  52. 

Bates,  Edward,  241. 

Battalion  of  Chasseurs,  150. 

Beadles,  114. 

Beale,  Mrs.,  252. 

Beaumont,  Lieutenant,  J.  C.,  U.S.N.,  173. 

Bellevue  Hospital,  174. 

Berlin,  91,  96;  American  Minister  at,  88,  97. 

Biddle,  Commodore  James,  U.S.N.,  85,  86. 

Bladensburgh,  250. 

Blair,   Montgomery,  241. 

Bluefields,  145. 

Bobes,  78. 

Boca  del  Torro,  178,  179,  185,  186. 

Bogota,  172,  173. 

Bohme,  H.  W.,  93. 

Bolivar,  General  Simon,  60,  62,  72,  84;  Paulding  bearer  of 
despatches  to,  16,  25;  Incas  banner  presented  to,  42; 
conversation  with,  67;  discussion  of  European  and 
American  politics,  68;  charm  of  manner,  69;  Cap 
tain  Paulding  dines  with  him,  69.  See  also  "Liber 
ator," 


INDEX  301 

"Bolivar  in  his  Camp/'  the  book,  16,  19,  222. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  77. 

Borrett,  Mr.,  118. 

Boston,   Port  Admiral  of,  270. 

Bouton's  Point   (see  Huntington). 

Bowie,  Mr.,  information  given  by,  178,  179. 

Bowlin,   Mr.,   172,   173. 

Boyce,  Abraham,  letter  from,  274,  275,  276,  277;  letter 
to,  272,  273,  274. 

Bradhurst,  Samuel,  farm  at  Huntington  purchased  from, 
223. 

Bradish,  Mrs.,  296. 

Brady,  photograph  by,  208. 

Bremen,  89,  92,  93,  96,  113,  133,  218;  Civic  Guard  of,  94. 

Bremerhaven,  88,  91,  92,  93,  95;  despatches  from,  131; 
port  of  Bremen,  133. 

Breton,  Captain,  118. 

Brevoort,  Henry,  296. 

Bridge  (Chain),  251. 

Brooks,  mayor,  111. 

Brunswick,  the,  187,  188,  190. 

Buchanan,  James,  Paulding  ignored  during  his  administra 
tion,  200;  censure  by,  280. 

Buena  Vista,  217. 

Buenos  Ayres,  211. 

Billow,  Von,  96. 

Burton,   Mr.,    186. 

Butler,  General  B.  F.,  U.S.A.,  his  term  for  negroes,  260, 
261. 

Butler,  Lady,  118. 

Byron,  Lord  G.  G.,  209,  225. 

Cabanas,  expedition  through  the  fort,  151,  152,  153,  154. 

Cadiz,  89,  122,  123. 

Calderon,  212. 

Caldwell,  William  M.,  letter  from,  198,  199,  200. 

California,  217,  218. 

Callao,  19,  23. 


302  INDEX 

Cambreleng,  Hon.  C.  C.,  229,  241;  letters  from,  216, 
217,  218. 

Cameron,  Simon,  241. 

Campbell,  Thomas,  225. 

Canfield,  Ensign,  295. 

Cantagalli,  R.,  letter  from,  288;  letter  to,  289. 

Cape  Horn,  204. 

Capture  of  John  Paulding  by  British,  3,  273,  274,  275; 
of  Major  Andre",  3;  of  Algerine  vessels,  14;  of 
Mutineers  of  the  Globe,  17;  of  Lieutenant  Meade  at 
Fort  Sumter,  269;  of  William  Walker,  279,  280,  284. 

Casadores  go  through  evolutions,  151. 

Cassava,  43,  48. 

Cassin,  Commander  Stephen,  U.S.N.,  9,  11. 

Castillo,  196. 

Central  America  191;  interesting  to  England,  140. 

Central  America,  the,  175,  176. 

Cervantes,  212. 

Chain  Bridge,  251. 

Champlain,  Lake,  296;  lake  squadron,  9;  battle  of,  10,  212; 
Paulding's  service  on,  90. 

Chancallain,  48. 

Channel,  British,  133. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  241. 

Chasseurs,  Battalion  of,  150. 

Chatard,  Captain  Frederick,  U.S.N.,  186,  191,  192,  195; 
interferes  with  Walker's  plans,  183. 

Chauncey,  Commodore  Isaac,  U.S.N.,  7. 

"Cheese-box,"  293. 

Cherimoya,  61. 

Chesapeake  Bay,  294. 

Chile,  ex-president  of,  73. 

China,  85,  86. 

Chiriqui,  178,  185,  195;  guarding  of,  191. 

Christiania,  130. 

Church  at  Huntington,  history  of,  228. 

Cilly,  Lieutenant  Greenleaf,  U.S.N.,  192. 

City  Hall  Park,  New  York.,  site  of,  2. 


INDEX  303 

Civil  War,  mutterings  of,  232;  letter  written  during,  289, 
290,  291;  return  of  soldiers  after,  297,  298. 

Cob  Dock,  work  of  reclaiming,  260,  261,  262,  263. 

Cochran,  Mr.,  118. 

Cochrane,  Lord,  204. 

Cockburn,  Mr.,  116. 

Cold  Spring,  228. 

Cologne,  110. 

Colombia,  72;  army  of,  25;  her  part  in  cause  of  freedom,  67; 
religion  in,  74;  Spanish  chiefs  in,  character  of,  77,  78. 

Colombians,  compared  with  Peruvians,  70;  compared 
with  Spaniards,  72. 

Colorado  River,  195,  196. 

Coltishall,  England,  209,  210. 

Columbia,  S.  C.,  prison  in,  269. 

Columbus,  the,  85,  86. 

"Commodore  Paulding,"  the,  134. 

Common  Council,  of  Southampton,  113,  114,  115,  116. 

Concord,  N.  H.,  136. 

Confederacy,  the,  141. 

Confederates,  256. 

Confederation,  Congress,  95;  Germanic  91,  108. 

Congress,  U.  S.,  Germanic,  96;  gives  medal  to  captors, 
3;  gives  prize  money  and  sword,  12,  131. 

Constellation,  the,  14,  222,  296. 

Constitution,  the,  85. 

"Contrabands  of  war,"  261. 

Cooper,  James  Fenimore,  "Naval  History,"  10;  extract 
from,  11. 

"Copperhead,"   part  in  Draft  Riot,  263. 

Cordilleras,  56,  57,  58,  59,  60,  61. 

Corn  Islands,  145. 

Corral,  General,  145,  146. 

Cortlandt,  N.  Y.,  birthplace  of  Hiram  Paulding,  5. 

Corwine,  Mr.,  178. 

Costa  Rica,  republic  of,  143,  197;  Walker's  possible  en 
trance  into,  178;  mountains  of,  186;  expedition 
against,  191. 


304  INDEX 

Cottrell,  Mr.,  143,  144,  146,  147,  187. 

Courage,  Mr.,  127. 

Gouty,  Colonel,  172. 

Cowan,  Mr.,  172,  173. 

Crawford,  Mr.,  149. 

Cronstadt,  89. 

Croskey,  Mr.,  Ill,  113,  114,  116,  119,  120. 

Cruise,  Pacific,  14,  204,  233;    Mediterranean,  208,   222; 

China,  85,  86,  87;  West  Indies,  85,  142;  of  the  St. 

Lawrence,  88  to  133  J 
"Cruise  of  the  Dolphin,"  222. 
Cuba,  150. 
Cumberland,   the,  239,  240;  sinking  of,  213;  at  anchor, 

238. 

Currituck,  the,  294. 
Cuvier,  George  L.  C.  F.  D.,  210. 
Cyane,  the,  142,  171,  172,  173. 

Dacres,  Captain  J.  R.,  R.  N.,  122. 

Dahlgren,  Captain  John  A.,  U.S.N.,  250. 

Dahlgren,  Miss,  250. 

Davis,  Rear  Admiral  Charles  Henry,  U.S.N.,  testimony 
of,  17;  Walker  surrenders  to  him,  141;  duty  in  Wash 
ington,  233,  244,  246. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  236;  at  White  House,  139. 

de  Castro,  Viscount,  124. 

Deacon,  Mr.,  116. 

Decatur,  Commodore  Stephen,  U.S.N.,  14,  296. 

Dee,  the,  172,  184,  185. 

Del  Santo,  Captain,  288. 

Denmark,  deputation  from,  92,  126. 

Deserts,  of  Atacama,  23;  beyond  Huaura,  31;  lost  in, 
experiences  in,  81;  sufferings  in,  82,  83. 

Dewey,  Admiral  George,  U.S.N.,  15   (foot-note). 

Dillard,  Doctor,  U.S.N.,  143. 

Dixon,  Peter,  master  of  ceremonies,  117. 

Dobbin,  James  C.,  letter  from,  180,  181,  182. 

Dobbin,  John,  his  death,  175. 


INDEX  305 

Dolphin,  the,  17,  25;  "Cruise  in  the  Dolphin,"  by  H.  P., 

222. 

Donaldson,  Fort,  4. 
Donelson,  Mr.,  89,  96,  97,  98,  99. 
Douglas,  Admiral,  R.N.,  119. 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  137. 
Draft  Riot,  265,  266;  nature  of,  263;  outrages  committed, 

force  to  meet,  264. 
Dresden,  100,  101. 

Drummond,  Lieutenant,  R.N.,  115,  118. 
Duckwitz,  Minister,  103,  105,  106,  108. 
Dulwich,  127. 

Dundas,  Admiral,  R.N.,  first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  118. 
Dunkeim,  Marquis,  96. 
Dunlop,  Mr.,  172,  173. 
"Dutchman's  Fireside,"  18. 

Eagle,  the,  212. 

East  Indies,  service  in,  85. 

East  Neck,  see  Huntington. 

Edwards,  Doctor  David  S.,  U.S.N.,  and  Mrs.,  241. 

Edwards,  Mr.,  collector  of  customs,  119. 

Elbe,  River,  112. 

Ellis,  William  A.,  foot-note,  15. 

Ellsworth,  Colonel  Ephraim  Elmer,  U.S.A.,  248. 

Ellsworth,  P.  G.,  13. 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  226. 

Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  211. 

Engle,    Captain    Frederick,    U.S.N.,    243;    accompanies 

the   President,    156,  162,    163;    conveys   letter,    188. 
Ericsson,  John,  214;  reliance  on,  237;  his  monitor,  254; 

letter  from,  291. 
Ericsson,  the,  Monitor  so  called,  258;  arrival  at  Hampton 

Roads,  266. 

Erskine,  Captain,  172,  173. 
Escheveria,  General,  151,  153. 
Espiegle,  the,  143. 
Estidio,  the,  14. 


306  INDEX 

Fairfax,  Lieutenant  D.  M.,  U.S.N.,  173. 

Falmouth,  the,  142. 

Fashion,  the,  183,  185,  186;  Walker  in  the  steamer,  195; 

Walker  lands  from,  197. 
Fatchio,  Commander,  187. 
Fidelity,  motto  on  captor's  medal,  3,  271. 
Filibusters,  195,  197,  198;  preventing  filibusterism,  183; 

law  expenses,  240. 
Fillmore,  Millard,  160. 
Finisterre,  Cape,  89. 
Fisher,  Fort,  4. 
Fisher's  Island,  247. 
Flatbush,  L.  I.,  221,  home  in,  222. 
Fortress  Monroe,  239,  259,  266,  267. 
Francis,  Charles,  captain's  secretary,   114,   120. 
Frankfort,  91,  95,  96,  100,  101,  102,  107,  108. 
Frederick  the  Great,  palace  of,  99. 
Fugitive  Slave  Law,  138. 
Fulton,  the,  142,  155,  182,  186,  187,  188,  189;  sent  to 

Mobile,  195. 
Fulton,  the,  river  steamer,  7. 

"General  Henderson,"  the,  134. 
Geofrey,  Commander,  149. 
Georgia,  206,  207. 
German  Navy,  92,  96,  99. 
German  Parliament,  91,  102,  103. 
Germanic  Confederation,  91,  108. 
Gettysburg,  battle  of,  264. 
Gibbons,    Master,  6. 
Gilmer,  Mr.,  241. 

Gilliss,  Captain  James  M.,  U.S.N.,  252. 
Globe,  the,  17. 

Goldsboro,  Commodore  Louis  M.,    U.S.N.,  214. 
Goodwin  Sands,  danger  of,  112. 
Gotha,   101. 

Governors,  Huacho,  26,  27,  38,  79;  Huaura,  31,  32;  Supe, 
33;  Barranca,  36,  38;  Patavilca,  38,  39;  Huaracanga, 


INDEX  307 

41;  Gulcan,  44,  45,  46;  Chancallain,  48,  50;  Marca, 

55;  Araquai,  60;  Santa,  79,  80. 
Governor's  Island,  294. 

Granada,  republic  of,  143,  145,  146,  173,  177. 
Gray,  Captain,  175. 
Greece,  queen  of,  entertained,  92. 
Green,  Mr.,  English  consul,  187. 
Greenwich  Hospital,  visit  to,  127,  128,  129. 
Greytown,   governor  of,    144,  145,    147,    172. 
Guadalupe,  80,  83. 
Guide,  26,  27,  38;  unable  to  speak  Spanish,  59;  loses  his 

way,  81,  82,  83;  new  guide  obtained,  84. 
Guise,  Admiral,  24. 
Gulcan,  44,  46. 

Hale,  Nathan,  capture  of,  228. 

Hamburg,  95. 

Hampton  Roads,   214;  Merrimac  ordered  to,  238,  258, 

259,  266,  293. 
Hanover,  95,  97. 
Hanse,  Mr.,  157. 
Hanseatic  cities,  101. 
Harper's  Ferry,  245. 
Harper's  Monthly,  293. 
Hassler,  Charles,  247. 
Hassler,  Dr.  Ferdinand,  U.S.N.,  247. 
Havana,  147,  148,  193;  troops  at,  154. 
Hawes,  Mary,  115. 
Hawes,  Siday,   115,   126,   127;  friendship  for,  202,  208; 

letters  from,  209,  210,  211,  212. 
Heathcote,  Colonel,  1. 

Heinzelman,  General  Samuel,  U.S.A.,  249,  251. 
Heligoland,  island  of,  112. 
Henderson,  General  Archibald,  U.S.M.C.,  157. 
"Henderson,  General,"  the  (see  General). 
Herndon,    Captain   William   L.,    U.S.N.,    loss   of  vessel, 

175,  176. 

j,  101. 


308  INDEX 

Hoff,  Lieutenant  Henry  K.,  U.S.N.,  112,  113,  115. 

Holiway,  Mr.,  118. 

Holstein,  133. 

Holy  Alliance,  211. 

Home  Squadron,  the,  141,  194,  233,  281. 

Honduras,    143. 

Hoover,  Marshal,  157. 

Hopkins,  Mr.,  122,  124. 

Hornsby,  Captain,  call  from,  146,  187;  on  board  Wabash, 
190. 

Hospital,  Greenwich,   127,  128,  129. 

Houses  of  Parliament,  127. 

Huacho,  25,  27,  34,  38,  79. 

Huaracanga,   41,   42,   44,   45. 

Huaraz,  60,  61,  64,  79. 

Huaura,  31,  32,  33. 

Huava,  30,  31. 

Hull,  Commodore  Isaac,  U.S.N.,  16,  25,  26,  66. 

Humboldt,   Alexander,   von,    99. 

Hunter,  General  David,  U.S.A.,  244,  249. 

Hunter,   Mr.,   58,   59,  73,  80. 

Huntington,  194,  216,  297;  home  at  (see  also  "Peach 
Blossom"),  88,  164,  200,  223,  224,  270,  285;  Bouton's 
Point,  224;  East  Neck,  228;  West  Neck,  216,  217, 
223,  231,  253;  age  of  village  —  history  —  " Old 
Times  in"  (note),  church  at,  228. 

Hutchins,  Mr.,  143,  146. 

Hutchins,   Mr.,  ex.-M.P.,   116. 

Hythe,  landed  at,   118. 

Incas,  banner  of  the,  42. 
Incas,  treasures  of  the,  32. 
Illinois,  the,  176. 
Independence,  the,  14,  277. 
Ironsides,  model  of,  237. 

Irving,    Washington,    received    on    board    Wabash,    164; 
influence  of  his  interest  on  career  of  Paulding,  296. 
Irving,  William,  201. 


INDEX  309 

Isabel,  the,  194. 

Isle  of  Shoals,  158. 

Italy,  King  of,  287,  288,  289. 

Jamestown,  the,  192;  attacks  the  Monitor,  266. 
Jamaica,  144,  187,  188. 
Japan,  ports  closed,  86. 
John  of  Austria,  Archduke,  108,  109,  110. 
Johnson,  Captain,  113. 
Johnson,  Samuel,  prayer  by,  209. 

Juarez,  General,  transmits  thanks  of  Nicaraguan  Govern 
ment,  282. 

"Kalmia,"  216,  224,  231,  270. 

Kansas,  137,  138. 

Kellogg,  Anne  Maria,  wife  of  Hiram  Paulding,  221. 

Kennedy,  Commander,  U.S.N.,  192. 

Keystone  State,  the,  242. 

Kiel,  Captain,  R.N.,  116. 

Kinney,  Colonel,  143,  145,  147. 

King  of  Italy,  letter  regarding  his  bestowal  of  the  order, 

287,   288;  acknowledgment  of  decoration  conferred 

by,  289. 

King  of  Portugal,  visit  to,  124. 
Kingston,  Jamaica,  187,  188. 

Lacerna,  Viceroy,  25. 

Laishley,  George,  mayor  of  Southampton,  115. 

Lambert,  Captain,  143. 

Lanesta,  Colonel,   148. 

Lannete,  Colonel,  visit  from,  150;  escorts  visitors  through 

fortress,  151;  manner,  address,  153. 
La  Perouse,  149. 
"La  Punta,"56,  57,  58. 
Lea,  Mr.,  148. 

Lee,  General  Robert  E.,  263. 
Lefferts,  Jarvis,  229. 
Lenthal,  John,  naval  constructor,  237. 


310  INDEX 

Leopard,  the,  187,  188. 

Leps,  the,  149. 

Levant,  the,  85. 

"Liberator,"  the  (see  also  Bolivar),  16,  26,  66;  threats  of 
his  vengeance,  45;  arrival  at  headquarters,  61, 
62;  audience  with,  65;  his  esteem  for  Colonel  Sands, 
69;  toasts,  71;  his  ambitions,  72;  opinions  regarding 
Spaniards,  72;  Captain  Paulding  breakfasts  with 
him,  73,  74;  his  espousal  of  cause  of  liberty,  77; 
appearance,  78;  sketch  of,  222. 

Lima,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  25. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  232,  260. 

Lisbon,  89,  111,  121,  122,  123. 

Lloyds  Harbor,  285. 

Long,  Lady,  118. 

Louisiana  Purchase,  137. 

Low,  Seth,  the,  294. 

Luther,  Martin,  prison-house  of,  101. 

Macedonian,  the,  14,  15,  202,  204,  277. 

Madison,  James,  Hiram  Paulding  receives  his  appoint 
ment  in  Navy  from,  6. 

Malabar,  the,  heroism  of  her  captain,  125. 

Marca,  53,  54,  55. 

Marriage,  221. 

Marston,  Commodore  John,  U.S.N.,  293,  294. 

Martha,  235. 

Martin,  Mr.,  144. 

Mashoudah,  the,  14. 

Mason,  J.  Y.,  90,  131,  132,  133. 

Maynard,  U.S.N.,  heroism,  247. 

Mayor  (of  Southampton),  see  Southampton. 

McCauley,  Commodore    Charles    S.,    U.S.N.,  237,    238. 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  U.S.A.,  movements, 
250. 

McClellan's  rigging  loft,  15. 

McDonald,  Mr.,  lands  with  Walker,  197. 

McDonough,  Commodore  Thomas,  U.S.N.,  9,  212. 


INDEX  311 

Meade,  General  George  Gordon,  U.S.A.,  264;  Captain 
Richard  Worsam,  U.S.N.,  commands  "Receiving 
ship,"  259,  260;  value  of  his  work  at  New  York 
Navy  Yard,  260,  261,  262,  263;  Lieutenant  Robert 
Leamy,  U.S.M.C.,  capture  at  Fort  Sumter — im 
prisonment  —  is  exchanged,  269. 

Medal,  given  to  captors  of  Major  Andre",  3,  271. 

Mediterranean,  cruise  in,  208,  222. 

Melendez,  212. 

Memorandum,  regarding  destruction  of  Norfolk  Navy 
Yard,  235  to  240. 

Merrimac,  the  (see  also  the  Virginia'),  237,  238;  attacks 
the  Cumberland,  213;  fight  of,  258,  259,  266;  collision 
of  with  Monitor,  292. 

Mexico,  140,  191,  217;  Gulf  of,  182. 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  211. 

Miller,  General,  65,  66,  73. 

Milton,  John,  225. 

Ministers  of  England,  France,  Saxony,  Austria,  97; 
Sweden  and  Russia,  123. 

Minnesota,  the,  294. 

Mississippi  River,  242. 

Missouri,  the,  125. 

Missouri  Compromise,  137. 

Mobile,  185,  195. 

Molina,  210. 

Molina,  Louis,  envoy  extraordinary  —  letters  from,  278, 
279,  280,  281;  letter  to,  283,  284. 

Mongoose,  description  of,  170,   171. 

Monitor,  the  (see  also  the  Ericsson},  building  of,  237; 
fight  of,  258,  259;  help  of  support  given  to,  291; 
letter  from  Hiram  Paulding  to  engineer  of,  292,  293; 
letter  from  ofticer  of,  293,  294,  295. 

"Monit&r  and  Merrimac,"  the  fight  —  Paulding's  part  in 
bringing  it  about,  258,  259. 

Montezumas,  Hall  of  the,  217. 

Monument,  to  John  Paulding,  272;  to  Hiram  Paulding, 
229,  230. 


312  INDEX 

Moratin,  212. 

Morgan,  the,   196;  seized  by  Walker,   197. 

Morgan,  Mr.,  197. 

Morro,   visit  to  —  review  of  troops,    151;  dungeons  of, 

152,  153;  departure  from,  155. 
Morse,  Charles,  208. 
Morse,    Professor    Samuel    B.,    Paulding    meets    him    a: 

Athens,  208. 
Mosquito   Coast,  protectorate  over,   140;  territory,   147, 

181;  flag,  144,  147,  181;  king,  145. 
Mounds,  in  Peru,  32,  41,  42. 
Moyen,  178. 
Mulgrave  Islands,  17. 
Mutineers,  of  whale-ship  Globe,  17. 

Nancy,  135. 

Napier,  Admiral  Sir  Charles,  R.N.,  122,  124. 

National  Assembly,  105,  106. 

Naval  Academy,  16,  162. 

Naval  Asylum,  235,  270,  289. 

Navy  Yard,  Boston,  15,  204;  New  York,  208,  264,  265, 
269,  285,  292,  294,  295;  Paulding  executive  officer  of , 
85;  ordered  to  command  of,  253;  work  at  —  during 
Civil  War,  255,  256,  257,  258,  259;  Cob  Dock  at, 
260;  Captain  Meade's  work  at,  261,  262,  263;  de 
tached  from,  270;  Norfolk,  141,  237,  238,  239;  de 
struction  of,  240;  Washington,  134,  138,  142,  247. 

Nebraska,  137,  138. 

Negroes,  at  New  York  Navy  Yard,  260,  261;  "contra 
band  of  war,"  261. 

Newfoundland,  142. 

New  Holland,  210. 

New  Mexico,  218. 

New  Orleans,  141,  173,  195. 

New  Providence  Island,  177. 

New  York,  142,  174. 

Nicaragua,  143,  146,  180, 181, 184,  190,  241,  279,  280,  281, 
283;  troubles  in,  140;  Walker  in,  141;  conditions  of 


INDEX  313 

government,  182;  offers  land  and  sword  to  Admiral 
Paulding,  183;  expedition  against,  191;  army  of,  192; 
invasion  of,  195,  197,  282;  thanks  of  —  as  vindicating 
Admiral  Paulding,  196;  sword  given  by,  278;  coat 
of  arms  of  —  on  sword,  285. 

Nicaragua,  Lake,  145. 

Nicholson,    Lieutenant   John,   U.S.N.,  296. 

Nicocher,  General,  73. 

Nicola  Mole,  142. 

Nieu  Amsterdam,  1. 

Norfolk,  England,  209,  210. 

Norfolk,  Va.,  189,  192,  204,  235,  238,  266. 

North  American  Review,  210. 

North  Carolina,  the,  260,  269. 

Northern  Light,  the,  175,  176,  177. 

Northport,  226,  228. 

North  Sea,  88,  90,  104,  111,  112,  133. 

Norton,  Lady  Caroline,  123. 

Norway,  126. 

Norwich,  14. 

Norwich  Academy,  15   (see  also  Partridge's   Academy). 

Nuncio,   papal,   description  of,    123. 

Ogle,  Captain,  R.N.,  147. 

O'Higgins,  General,  73. 

Ohio  River,  242. 

Oldenburg,  Duke  of,  92,  93,  95,  96. 

Old  Providence  Island,  177. 

Ollapodrida,  34. 

Omanney,  Captain,  dines  aboard  W abash,  187. 

Ontario,  Lake,  9. 

Order,  Sts.  Maurice  and  Lazarus,  letter  regarding  bestowal 
of  order,  287,  288;  letter  regarding  transmission  of 
insignia,  288;  letter  acknowledging  receipt  of  decora 
tion,  289. 

Oregon,  217. 

Orion,  the,  173. 

Oyster  Bay,  226,  228,  229. 


314  INDEX 

Pacific,  cruises  in,  14,  16,  17,  18,  233. 

Page,  Commander  Richard  L.,  U.S.N.,  238. 

Palace  of  Frederick  the  Great,  99. 

Palmer,  G.  M.,  13. 

Panama,   141,   176;  Canal,    174;  R.  R.  Company  (note) 
143,  173. 

Papal  nuncio,  123. 

Parliament,  German,  tenders  Captain  Paulding  a  command 
in  German  service,  92;  speeches  of,  103. 

Parliament,  Houses  of,  127. 

Partridge,  Captain  Alden,  14. 

Partridge's  Academy,    205   (see  Norwich  Academy,  15). 

Passaic,  the,  291. 

Passports,  used  in  journey  to  and  from  Bolivar's  camp, 
26,  27,  45,  78. 

Patavilca,  38,  39,  48. 

Pauldinck,  Joost,  ancestor  of  Hiram  Paulding,  emigrates 
from  Holland,  1;  his  wife,  Cater jna,  1. 

Paulding,  Abraham,  2;  George,  3,  4;  Hiram,  Jr.,  sword 
in  his  possession,  12;  James  K.,  201,  296;  author  of 
"Dutchman's  Fireside,"  18;  letter  from,  277,  278; 
John,  276,  277;  birth,  military  duty,  2;  capture  of 
Andre",  3;  capture  and  imprisonment  by  British,  3, 
273,  274,  275;  death,  monument,  272;  Joseph,  2; 
Leonard,  4,  175;  Nancy,  3;  Pekt,  2;  Susan,  4,  7,  222; 
Tattnall,  175,  189,  193,  241,  243,  250,  270,  287;  his 
name,  202;  visit  to  Georgia,  207;  secretary  to  his 
father,  233;  in  sixth  cavalry,  244;  in  Libby  Prison, 
268;  exchanged,  269;  William,  275. 

Pawnee,  the,  239,  240. 

"Peach  Blossom,"  88,  225,  249,  253,  268,  270,  286,  287. 

Peacock,  the,  16. 

Peekskill,  monument  to  John  Paulding  at,  272. 

Pennsylvania,  264. 

Percival,  Lieutenant  John,  U.S.N.,  17. 

Percival,  Mr.,  118. 

Perez,  Don  Jose"  Rosa,  presentation  of  sword  by,  279,  280; 
reception  of  sword  from,  282;  thanks  expressed  to,  283, 


INDEX  315 

Peru,  16,  23,  24,  25,  38,  72,  204;  army  of,  26;  mounds 
found  in,  32,  41,  42;  people  of,  70,  71. 

Peruvians,  71,  211;  compared  with  Colombians,  70. 

Pfordten,  Staats-minister,  100. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  becomes  President  —  problems  of  govern 
ment—attitude  toward  affairs,  136,  137,  138,  139, 
140,  141;  his  trip  on  the  Wabash,  156, 157,  158,  159, 
160,  161. 

Pierce,  Mrs.,  139. 

Piesara,  80. 

Pilot  of  Goodwin  Sands,  fame  —  is  knighted,  112. 

Pizaro,  Alcalde,  79. 

Platen,  Count,  letter  from,  129,  130. 

Platt,  Henry  C.,  228. 

Plattsburg,  10;  letter  from  citizens  of,  12. 

Pleasants,  Mr.,  148. 

Point  Arenas  (see  Punta  Arenas). 

Point  Torro,  170. 

Pollard,  Commander,  R.N.,  173. 

Pompeii,  99. 

Pope,  Alexander,  225. 

Port  Admiral  of  Boston,  270.  . 

Porter,  Commodore  David,  U.S.N.,  16,  205. 

Porto  Bello,  167. 

Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  156. 

Portugal,  King  of,  visit  to,  124. 

Potomac,  the,  155,  156,  164,  165;  Paulding's  flag-ship,  142. 

Potomac  River,  239,  243,  247,  249. 

Potsdam,  97,  99. 

Powell,  Captain  Levin  M.,  U.S.N.,  143,  151,  241;  in 
command  of  flag-ship,  142. 

Prefect  of  Huaraz,  61,  62. 

President,  the,  9. 

Prize  money,  12. 

Prometheus,  the,  14. 

Providence  Island,  176. 

Prussia,  92;  king  of,  91,  98;  kingdom  of,  89;  Prussian 
government,  96. 


316  INDEX 

Prussian  Minister,  89. 

Prussians,  officers,  89,  91. 

Punta  Arenas,  186,  187,  192,  197,  282;  the  Saratoga  at, 

182;  Walker's  landing  at,  195. 
Punta  de  Castilla,  arrest  of  Walker  at,  279,  280,  284; 

engraved  on  sword,  285. 

Re  d'  Italia,  the,  assistance  rendered,  288,  289. 

Renshaw,  Commodore  James,  U.S.N.,  85. 

Reynolds,  Mrs.,  250. 

Rhine,  the,  110. 

Rhinelander,  Doctor  William,  228. 

Ricardo,  211. 

Richmond,  245. 

Rimac  River,  21. 

Rimac  Valley,  19. 

Rio  Grande,  217. 

Rivera,  Mr.,  143. 

Rivers,  Lady,  118. 

Robb,  Commander,  U.S.N.,  172. 

Robertson,  Mr.,  148. 

Rothschilds,  Frankfort  the  residence  of,  102. 

Row-galleys,  11. 

Roxas,  Don  Jose",  40. 

Rutland,  daughter  of  Duke  of,   118. 

Rynders,  Marshall,  140. 

Sachem,  the,  294. 

Sackett's  Harbor,  7,  8,  207. 

St.  Andrews,  island  of,  177. 

St.  Lawrence,  the,  88,  90,  91,  92,  93,  94,  98,  111,  112,  114, 

118,    119,    122,    123,    126,    129,    131,   132,    133,   218; 

officers   of  —  toast  to,    117. 
Sts.  Maurice  and  Lazarus,  Order  of,  288,  289   (see  also 

Order). 

St.  Vincent,  the,  122. 
Saldanha,  Duke  of,  124. 
Salter,  Lieutenant,  277. 


INDEX  317 

Sal  y  Rosa,  Don  Emmanuel,  64,  65,  79. 

Sands,  Colonel,  69. 

San  Francisco,  foot-note,  143. 

San  Jose1,  178. 

San  Juan  del  Norte,  142,  143,  147,  171,  172,  173,  178, 
180,  181,  182,  184,  185,  186,  187,  188,  189,  192,  195, 
196,  279,  280,  281;  importance  of,  144;  expedition  to 
land  at,  150;  guarding  of,  191. 

San  Lorenzo,  island  of,  19. 

San  Salvador,  143. 

Sans  Souci,  palace  of,  98. 

Santa,  79,  82. 

Santa  River,  80. 

Saratoga,  the,  142,  173,  182,  184,  186,  187,  188,  189,  190, 
195,  196,  281;  suspension  of  her  captain,  191;  dis 
courtesy  to  her  captain,  192;  filibusters  sent  aboard, 
197. 

Sartorius,  Admiral  Sir  George,  R.N.,  123;  letter  to, 
124,  125,  126. 

Savannah,  206,  207,  208. 

Saxe-Coburg,  German  Prince  of,  124. 

Saxony,  king  of,  101;  minister  of  state  of,  100. 

Schleswig,  133. 

Scott,  Mr.,  184. 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  U.S.A.,  241. 

Scudder,  Joel,  298. 

Sea  Gull,  the,  16. 

Seventh  Regiment,  233,  247. 

Seward,  William  H.,  241. 

Seymour,  Captain,  125. 

Shakespeare,  William,  225. 

Shark,  the,  85,  222. 

Shubrick,  Commodore  William  B.,  U.S.N.,  215. 

Silver  oar,  113,  114. 

Sinclair,  Lady,  118. 

Sinclair,   Lieutenant  George,  U.S.N.,  173,   191. 

Sinclair,  Captain  Sir  John  Gordon,  R.N.,  117,  118,  119. 

Sing  Sing,  276. 


318  INDEX 

Sixth  Cavalry,  233,  244,  250. 

Slavery,  President  Pierce's  attitude  toward,  137,  138. 

Slaves,  135,  235. 

Sleepy  Hollow,  old  churchyard  of,  2. 

Smith,  Burgomaster,  108. 

Smith,  Rear-Admiral  Joseph,  U.S.N.,  character,  service, 

212,  213;   his   son   Joseph,  213;   letters   from,   214, 

215,  216;  responsibility  devolving  on,  237. 
"S.  P.  G,"  the,  228. 
Southampton,  88,  92,  111,  112,  114,  117,  120,  132;  mayor 

of,  113,  114,  116,  126;  River,  114. 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek,  275. 
Staatsburg,  272. 
Star  of  the  West,  the,  175. 
Staten  Island,  87,  222. 
Stetson,  L.,  13. 

Stewart,  Commodore  Charles,  U.S.N.,  241. 
Stimers,  Mr.,  letter  to,  292,  293. 
Stockholm,  visit  of  St.  Lawrence  to,  129. 
Stockton,  Mrs.  Francis  B.,  243,  248. 
Stout,  Captain  William,  171,  228,  241. 
Stringham,  Rear-Admiral  Silas  H.,  U.S.N.,  244. 
Sugar  House,  John  Paulding  a  prisoner  in,  274,  275. 
Sumter,  Fort,  141;  needs  of,  241;  capture  of  Lieutenant 

Meade  at,  269. 
Sun,  the,  249. 
Supe,  33. 
Swan,  G.,  267. 

Sweden,  92,  126;  visit  of  St.  Lawrence  to,  130. 
Sword,  for  service  on  Lakes,   12;  given  by  Nicaraguan 

Government,  183,  278,  279,  280;  acceptance  of,  281, 

282,  283;  letter  acknowledging  receipt  of  sword,  283, 

284;  description  of,  285. 

Tabor,  John,  17. 
Tagus,  89,  124. 
Tarpeian  rock,  77. 
Tarrytown,  2,  273,  276. 


INDEX  319 

Tartar,  the,  172,  173. 

Tattnall,  Edward,  206;  Commodore  Josiah,  U.S.N.,  202, 
203,  205,  206,  207;  life  of,  208;  Paulding,  202. 

Tecklenborg,  Francis,  96. 

Teed,  Sarah,  3,  276. 

Terceira,  Duke  of,  124. 

Texas,  245. 

Thames,  the,  127,  128. 

Thompkins,  the  schooner,  7. 

Ticonderoga,  the,  9,  11. 

Tilden,  Mr.  Samuel  J.,  157. 

Times,  the,  249;  reporters  of,  115. 

Tingey,  Commodore  Thomas,  U.S.N.,  134. 

Toasts,  to  the  memory  of  Washington,  71;  to  the  Wash 
ington  of  the  South,  71 ;  Captain  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
94;  Captain  and  officers,  117;  President  of  the 
United  States,  94,  117;  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  94; 
success  of  the  German  Navy,  106;  health  of  the 
Queen,  117. 

Toomey,  Mr.,  212. 

Tories,  275,  276. 

Totten,  General  Joseph   S.,  U.S.A.,  172,  173,  179,  250. 

Toucey,  Isaac,  Secretary  of  Navy  —  letter  from,  191,  192. 

Tract  of  land  offered  by  Nicaraguan  Government,  183. 

Trenchard,  Lieutenant-Commander  Stephen  D.,  U.S.N., 
242. 

Truxillo,  79,  84. 

Tucker,  Alanson,  159. 

Tuttle,  Colonel,  U.S.A.,  8. 

United  States,  the,  16,  17. 
University  of  Norwich,  15. 

Valparaiso,  204. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  229. 

Van  Cortlandt,  Colonel,  2. 

Van  Lare,  Abraham,  2. 

Van  Wart,  Isaac,  captor  of  Andre",  3. 


320  INDEX 

Vatel,  according  to,  199. 

Vecuna,  56. 

Vincennes,  the,  85,  86,  87. 

Virgin  Bay,  145. 

Virginia,  138,  238,  244,  247,  249. 

Virginia,  the  (see  also  Merrimac),  258. 

Viti,  Alonzo  M.,  289. 

Von  Gagern,  Heinrich  Wilhelm,  106,  107,  108. 

Von  Gerolt,  Baron,  113. 

Von  Wangenheim,  Major,  96,  97. 

Wabash,  the,  164,  167,  173,  174,  175,  183,  189,  192,  193, 
195;  President's  visit  to,  156,  160;  filibusters  aboard, 
190. 

Wainwright,  Captain,  R.N.,  187. 

Walker,  William,  140,  143,  144,  145,  146,  147,  172,  174, 
178,  180,  182,  187,  194,  199;  "gray-eyed  man  of 
destiny,"  183;  arrival  at  San  Juan,  184,  185;  his  sur 
render  demanded,  188;  his  officers  aboard  the  Sara 
toga,  189;  visit  from  —  his  conduct,  190;  letter  to  — 
demanding  surrender,  192,  193;  lands  at  Punta  Arenas, 
195;  sent  with  his  men  to  war-ships,  196;  the  Morgan 
seized  by,  197;  embarrassments  incident  to  capture 
of,  197,  198;  capture  of,  280,  281. 

Wallabout  Bay,  260. 

Ward,  Doctor  Thomas,  228. 

Ward,  Esther,  mother  of  Hiram  Paulding,  3. 

Washington,  city  of,  134,  135,  138,  160,  162,  235;  court- 
martial  duty  in,  232;  a  big  camp,  244;  a  military 
camp,  247;  fears  for,  249;  security  of,  251;  a  store 
house,  252. 

Washington,  George,  toast  to  his  memory,  71;  toast  to 
"the  Washington  of  the  South,"  71;  his  character 
referred  to  by  Bolivar,  72. 

Washington,  G.,  157. 

Washington,  the,  113. 

"Washington  of  the  South,"  71. 

Wayne,  Judge  I.  M.,  241. 


INDEX  321 

Webster,  Sydney,  157. 

Weed,  Smith  M.,  13. 

Welles,  Gideon,  232,  241,  242,  250,  256,  259. 

Weser  River,  92,  111,  112,  first  American  man-of-war  in, 

133. 
Westchester  County,  273;  birthplace  of  Hiram  Paulding, 

5;  patriots  of,  272. 
West  Indies,  piracy  in,  16,  205;  cruise  in,  85;  service  in, 

142. 

West  Neck,  see  Huntington. 
Westminster  Abbey,  126. 
Westmoreland,  Earl  of,  97. 
West  Point,  5. 
Wheel  of  Fortune,  the,  2. 
Wheeler,    J.   H.,    143;  extract   from   his   despatch,    180; 

his  movements,  181,  182. 
White  House,  139,  163,  164. 
White  Plains,  275;  grant  of  land  at,  2. 
White,  Susannah,  2. 
Wieburg,  Mr.,  97. 

Williams,  David,  captor  of  Major  Andre",  3. 
Wilson,  Captain,  64. 
Wilson,  Henry,  241. 

Woodbury,  Captain  Daniel  P.,  U.S.N.,  251. 
Woodbury,  Mrs.,  252. 
Woodhull,  Captain  Maxwell,  U.S.N.,  198,  249;  duty  hi 

Washington,  233. 
Woodhull,  Mrs.,  250. 
Worden,  Captain  John  L.,  U.S.N.,  294;  gallant  conduct, 

292. 

Yale  College,  222. 

Young,  Samuel,  273. 

Youngs,  Thomas  F.,  letter  to,  194,  195,  196,  197,  198. 

Yorktown,  the,  attacks  the  Monitor,  266. 


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